WO2025103466A1 - Battery cell pairing device - Google Patents

Abstract

A battery cell pairing device, comprising a battery cell stacking apparatus, a feeding apparatus and at least one flipping apparatus. The feeding apparatus comprises a first feeding apparatus and a second feeding apparatus, the first feeding apparatus is used for conveying a first battery cell, and the second feeding apparatus is used for conveying a second battery cell to the battery cell stacking apparatus. The at least one flipping apparatus comprises a first flipping apparatus, the first flipping apparatus is provided in a flippable manner around a set axis, and during flipping, the first battery cell located at the first feeding apparatus can be flipped 180 degrees and then placed on the battery cell stacking apparatus, so as to form a battery cell group formed by stacking the first battery cell and the second battery cell on the battery cell stacking apparatus.

Description

Cell pairing equipment

This disclosure claims priority to a Chinese patent application filed with the Chinese Patent Office on November 17, 2023, with application number 202323120915.X and application name “BATTERY CELL PAIRING DEVICE,” the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this disclosure.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a cell pairing device.

Background Art

Before assembling the battery, multiple cells need to be paired and installed in the same housing. In the related art, the cell pairing equipment first uses a robot to transport the cell and place it on the pull belt of the next station, and then uses a robot to flip the cell on the pull belt of the next station. The cell needs to be transferred many times, the equipment occupies a large area, the risk of damage caused by cell transportation is high, and the equipment production efficiency is low.

Summary of the invention

Based on this, it is necessary to provide a battery cell pairing device to address the problems that related battery cell pairing devices occupy a large area and have low production efficiency.

A cell pairing device, comprising:

Battery cell stacking device;

The feeding device comprises:

A first loading device, used for conveying a first battery cell;

A second loading device, used for conveying a second battery cell to the battery cell stacking device; and

At least one turning device, comprising:

The first flipping device is arranged to be flippable around a set axis, and during the flipping process, the first battery cell located at the first loading device can be flipped 180 degrees and placed on the battery cell stacking device to form a battery cell group stacked by the first battery cell and the second battery cell on the battery cell stacking device.

In some embodiments, the battery cell pairing device further includes a transfer device and a first transfer device; the at least one flipping device further includes a second flipping device;

The first transfer device and the second flipping device are both used to obtain a battery cell group from the battery cell stacking device, and the second flipping device is used to flip the obtained battery cell group 180 degrees around an axis parallel to the set axis and then place it on the transfer device;

The transfer device is used to receive the battery cell group transported by the second flipping device and the battery cell group transported by the first transfer device.

In some embodiments, the battery cell pairing device further includes a battery cell group rotating device, a second transport device, and a material unloading device;

The battery cell group rotating device is used to rotate the battery cell group located on the transfer device by 180 degrees around an axis perpendicular to the set axis at intervals;

The second transfer device is used to transport each battery cell group on the transfer device to the unloading device to form a four-battery cell pairing group consisting of a rotated battery cell group and a non-rotated battery cell group on the unloading device;

The unloading device is used for unloading the four-cell paired group.

In some embodiments, the cell pairing device further includes a glue sticking device, a glue sticking detection device, and a glue sticking recovery device; the glue sticking detection device is located downstream of the glue sticking device;

The glue applying device is used to apply glue to the battery cell group located in the transfer device; the glue applying detection device is used to detect whether the battery cell group located in the transfer device is qualified for glue applying, and the glue applying recovery device is used to recover the battery cell group with unqualified glue applying.

In some embodiments, the flipping device includes a rotating seat and a flipping clamp; the flipping clamp is disposed on the rotating seat;

The rotating seat is configured to be flippable around the set axis, and can drive the flip clamp to flip 180 degrees when flipping.

In some embodiments, the flipping device includes a plurality of flipping jaws, each of which is arranged at intervals in a direction parallel to the set axis; all of the flipping jaws are flipped synchronously under the drive of the rotating seat.

In some embodiments, the rotating seat includes a telescopic portion and a mounting portion, and the mounting portion is disposed on the telescopic portion;

The telescopic portion is configured to be flippable around the set axis and telescopic in a direction intersecting the set axis;

The flip clamp is arranged on the mounting portion.

In some embodiments, the flipping device further includes a lifting mechanism, the rotating seat is disposed on the lifting mechanism, and the lifting mechanism is used to drive the rotating seat to rise and fall in a direction intersecting the set axis.

In some embodiments, the battery cell pairing device further includes a battery cell detection device and a battery cell recovery device;

The battery cell detection device is used to detect whether the battery cells located on the feeding device are qualified, and the battery cell recovery device is used to recover unqualified battery cells on the feeding device.

In some embodiments, the battery cell pairing device further includes a good product storage device and a good product transfer device; the good product storage device is used to store qualified battery cells;

The loading device is used to transport multiple battery cells as a transport group;

The good product transfer device is used to transport the battery cells in the good product storage device to the vacant positions of each transport group after the unqualified battery cells in each transport group are recovered to the recovery device, and/or,

The good product transfer device is used to transfer qualified battery cells in each of the transport groups to the good product storage device, and is used to transfer multiple battery cells in the good product storage device as one of the transport groups to the loading device.

In the actual application of the above-mentioned battery cell pairing device, after the first flipping device obtains the first battery cell from the first feeding device, it flips the first battery cell, and when flipped into place, directly places the first battery cell on the battery cell stacking device to be stacked together with the second battery cell transported to the battery cell stacking device by the second feeding device to form a battery cell group. The first flipping device has the function of flipping and transporting the first battery cell, "killing two birds with one stone", not only realizing the pairing of two batteries in the battery cell pairing device, but also eliminating other transport structures to transport the flipped battery cells to the battery cell stacking device, which helps to reduce the number of devices in the battery cell pairing device, reduce the occupied area of the battery cell pairing device, and at the same time improve the production efficiency of the battery cell pairing device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present disclosure. Moreover, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to represent the same components. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a cell pairing device in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a cell pairing process in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a flipping device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

The reference numerals in the specific implementation manner are as follows:

100. Cell pairing equipment; 1. Cell; B. First cell; A. Second cell; 2. Cell group; 3. Four-cell pairing group; X. Set axis; 10. Loading device; 11. First loading device; 12. Second loading device; 10a. Loading manipulator; 10b. Loading conveyor belt; 10c. Loading table; 20. Turning device; 21. First turning device; 22. Second turning device; 20a. Rotating seat; 20b. Turning clamp Claw; a1, telescopic part; a2, mounting part; 20c, rotation drive mechanism; 30, battery cell stacking device; 50, transfer device; 41, first transfer device; 42, second transfer device; 61, battery cell group rotation device; 62, unloading device; 71, gluing device; 72, gluing detection device; 73, gluing recovery device; 81, battery cell detection device; 82, battery cell recovery device; 91, good product storage device; 92, good product transfer device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present disclosure more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present disclosure are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the present disclosure, so the present disclosure is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

In the description of the present disclosure, it needs to be understood that, if any, terms such as “center”, “longitudinal”, “lateral”, “length”, “width”, “thickness”, “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside”, “outside”, “clockwise”, “counterclockwise”, “axial”, “radial”, “circumferential”, etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present disclosure.

In addition, if present, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, "plurality" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

In the present disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, if any, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.

In the present disclosure, if it appears, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" and "above" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" and "below" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

It should be noted that, if present, when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be the only implementation method.

The battery cell is the smallest unit that makes up the battery and produces an electrochemical reaction. The battery cell can be a wound battery cell or a stacked battery cell. An insulating film can be wrapped around the outside of the battery cell to insulate the battery cell from the battery casing. After the battery cell is assembled into the battery casing/battery aluminum-plastic film, the battery can be obtained after processes such as liquid injection and formation. Usually, a battery will contain multiple battery cells to improve the energy density and endurance of the battery. Multiple battery cells contained in the same battery need to be paired and selected, and the tabs of the same polarity of each battery cell need to be electrically connected together.

The battery cell pairing device is used to realize automatic pairing of battery cells. As mentioned in the background technology, the related battery cell pairing machines have the problems of low production efficiency and large floor space. The present disclosure proposes a battery cell pairing device to solve the problem. The battery cell pairing device proposed in the present disclosure is introduced in detail below.

FIG. 1 is a battery cell pairing device 100 in some embodiments of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a battery cell 1 pairing process in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , the cell pairing device 100 provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a cell stacking device 30, a loading device 10 and at least one flipping device 20. The loading device 10 includes a first loading device 11 and a second loading device 12, the first loading device 11 is used to transport the first cell B, and the second loading device 12 is used to transport the second cell A to the cell stacking device 30. At least one flipping device 20 includes a first flipping device 21, the first flipping device 21 is flippably arranged around a set axis X, and during the flipping process, the first cell B located at the first loading device 11 can be flipped 180 degrees and placed on the cell stacking device 30, so as to form a cell group 2 stacked by the first cell B and the second cell A on the cell stacking device 30.

The battery cell group 2 is formed by stacking and pairing the first battery cell B and the second battery cell A. In actual application, in combination with Figures 1 and 2, the tabs of the first battery cell B in the first loading device 11 and the second battery cell A in the second loading device 12 are both located on the same side in their width direction, and arranged close to the same side in their thickness direction, and the tabs of the same polarity in the first battery cell B and the second battery cell A are arranged oppositely in the length direction. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first battery cell B and the second battery cell A are both battery cell 1, that is, when talking about battery cell 1, according to the type of device in which battery cell 1 is located, battery cell 1 can be one of the first battery cell B and the second battery cell A.

The loading device 10 is used to transport the battery cell 1. The first loading device 11 and the second loading device 12 are both used as loading devices 10, and are used to load the first battery cell B and the second battery cell A respectively. The structural designs of the first loading device 11 and the second loading device 12 can be the same or different. For example, as shown in FIG1 , each loading device 10 includes a loading robot 10a, a loading conveyor belt 10b and a loading platform 10c. The loading platform 10c is used to place the battery cell 1 transported by an external device. The loading robot 10a is used to transfer the battery cell 1 on the loading platform 10c to the loading conveyor belt 10b. The loading conveyor belt 10b is used to transport the battery cell 1 downstream.

The number of flipping devices 20 is at least one, and at least one flipping device 20 is used as a first flipping device 21. The first flipping device 21 is used to obtain the first battery cell B from the first feeding device 11, and then flip the obtained first battery cell B 180 degrees around the set axis X. The direction of the set axis X corresponds to the width direction of the first battery cell B placed on the first feeding device 11. The first feeding device 11 and the second feeding device 12 can transport the battery cell 1 along the width direction of the corresponding battery cell 1, that is, the first feeding device 11 can transport the first battery cell B along the width direction of the first battery cell B, and the second feeding device 12 can transport the second battery cell A along the width direction of the second battery cell A. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, after the first battery cell B is flipped 180 degrees, its positive and negative ears are flipped from the bottom to the top, and the arrangement orientation of the positive and negative ears in the length direction of the battery cell is swapped. In FIG. 2, the letter B represents the first battery cell B, the letter A represents the second battery cell A, the letter Al represents the positive ear, and the letter Cu represents the negative ear.

After the first flipping device 21 flips the first battery cell B, it directly places the flipped battery cell 1 on the battery cell stacking device 30. The battery cell stacking device 30 is located downstream of the second loading device 12. The second loading device 12 can transport the second battery cell A to the battery cell stacking device 30, and stack the transported second battery cell A on the flipped first battery cell B. Of course, the first flipping device 21 can also directly stack the flipped first battery cell B on the second battery cell A at the battery cell stacking device 30. It can be understood that a first battery cell B and a second battery cell A are stacked to form a battery cell group 2. As shown in Figure 2, in the battery cell group 2, the first battery cell B and the second battery cell A are stacked in the thickness direction, and the pole ears of the first battery cell B and the second battery cell A are close and the pole ears of the same polarity are aligned.

In the above-mentioned cell pairing device 100, in actual application, after the first flipping device 21 obtains the first cell B from the first loading device 11, it flips the first cell B, and when flipped into place, directly places the first cell B on the cell stacking device 30, so as to be stacked together with the second cell A transported to the cell stacking device 30 by the second loading device 12 to form a cell group 2. The first flipping device 21 has the function of flipping and transporting the first cell B, "killing two birds with one stone", not only realizing the pairing of two cells of the cell pairing device 100, but also eliminating other transport structures to transport the flipped cell 1 to the cell stacking device 30, which helps to reduce the number of devices in the cell pairing device 100, reduce the occupied area of the cell pairing device 100, and also improve the production efficiency of the cell pairing device 100.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 1 and in combination with FIG. 2 , the cell pairing device 100 further includes a transfer device 50 and a first transfer device 41. At least one flipping device 20 further includes a second flipping device 22, and both the first transfer device 41 and the second flipping device 22 are used to obtain the cell group 2 from the cell stacking device 30, and the second flipping device 22 is used to flip the obtained cell group 2 180 degrees around an axis parallel to the set axis X and place it in the transfer device 50. The transfer device 50 is used to receive the cell group 2 transported by the second flipping device 22 and the cell group 2 transported by the first transfer device 41.

There are two flipping devices 20, one of which is used as a first flipping device 21, and the other flipping device 20 is used as a second flipping device 22. The second flipping device 22 has the function of flipping the battery cell group 2 180 degrees around an axis parallel to the set axis X. The structures of the first flipping device 21 and the second flipping device 22 can be the same or different.

The transfer device 50 may be a transfer table, a transfer conveyor belt, etc., and is not limited. Part of the battery cell groups 2 on the battery cell stacking device 30 are transferred to the transfer device 50 by the first transfer device 41 without changing the placement form. Another part of the battery cell groups 2 on the battery cell stacking device 30 are transferred to the transfer device 50 after being flipped by the second flipping device 22. The first transfer device 41 may include a transfer robot, a transfer suction cup, etc.

In actual use, when the first transfer device 41 and the second flip device 22 transfer the cell group 2 to the transfer device 50, the transferred cell groups 2 are placed adjacent to each other on the transfer device 50, so that the flipped cell group 2 (transported by the second flip device 22) is arranged adjacent to at least one group of unflipped cell groups 2 (transported by the first transfer device 41). In actual application, the adjacent flipped cell groups 2 and unflipped cell groups 2 can be used as a group of four cell pairing groups 3 to be paired.

At this time, the second flipping device 22 is used to flip part of the cell groups 2 on the cell stacking device 30 and directly transport the flipped cell groups 2 to the transfer device 50, which can "kill two birds with one stone" and further reduce the floor space and production efficiency of the cell pairing equipment 100.

In actual application, the first loading device 11 can simultaneously transport multiple first battery cells B (as a transport group), the second loading device 12 can simultaneously transport multiple second battery cells A (as a transport group), and the first flipping device 21 can simultaneously flip each first battery cell B of the same transport group to the battery cell stacking device 30, and stack them together with each second battery cell A of the same transport group in a one-to-one correspondence to form multiple battery cell groups 2 as a transport group. Usually, the number of battery cell groups 2 in a transport group is an even number (such as 4, 6, 8).

As the battery stacking device 30 continues to transport multiple groups of battery cell groups 2 in each transport group, the second flipping device 22 and the first transfer device 41 can alternately take the battery cell groups 2 in each transport group, so that 1/2 of the battery cell groups 2 in the same transport group are flipped and transported by the second flipping device 22, and the remaining 1/2 of the battery cell groups 2 are transported by the first transfer device 41.

Specifically, the second flipping device 22 can be used to flip and transport the battery cell groups 2 in odd positions in each transport group, and the first transfer device 41 can be used to transport the battery cell groups 2 in even positions in each transport group. Specifically, the battery cell groups 2 in the transport group can be divided into multiple groups in pairs according to the arrangement order, and the adjacent battery cell groups 2 are transported by the second flipping device 22 and the first transfer device 41 respectively.

The manner in which the second flipping device 22 and the first transfer device 41 obtain the battery cell group 2 is not limited in the present disclosure, as long as a group of unflipped battery cell groups 2 can be arranged adjacent to a flipped battery cell group 2 at the transfer device 50 .

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 1 , the cell pairing device 100 further includes a cell group rotating device 61, a second transfer device 42, and a material unloading device 62. The cell group rotating device 61 is used to rotate the cell groups 2 on the transfer device 50 by 180 degrees around the axis of the vertical set axis X at intervals. The second transfer device 42 is used to transport each cell group 2 on the transfer device 50 to the material unloading device 62, so as to form a four-cell pairing group 3 on the material unloading device 62, which is a pairing of the rotated cell group 2 and the unrotated cell group 2. The material unloading device 62 is used to unload the four-cell pairing group 3.

The cell group rotating device 61 can drive the cell group 2 to rotate 180 degrees around the axis perpendicular to the set axis X, so that the pole ears of the rotated cell group 2 are switched from one side to the other side in the width direction, and the arrangement orientation of the positive pole ears and the negative pole ears in the length direction of the cell group 2 is changed.

In a specific application, the battery cell group rotating device 61 rotates around an axis in the vertical direction, that is, around an axis parallel to the thickness direction of the battery cell group 2 .

There are many specific construction methods for the cell group rotating device 61, and those skilled in the art can make conventional designs. As an example, the cell group rotating device 61 includes a rotating claw, which can clamp the cell group 2 and drive the cell group 2 to rotate. The same cell group rotating device 61 can be equipped with multiple rotating claws to rotate multiple cell groups 2 at the same time.

The second transfer device 42 may include a transfer robot, a transfer suction cup, etc. Specifically, the cell pairing device 100 may include a plurality of tracks on the top thereof, and the first transfer device 41 , the second transfer device 42 , etc. may be disposed on the tracks and may be movable along the tracks.

When multiple cell groups 2 of the same transport group are transported by the transfer device 50 to the station where the cell group rotating device 61 is located, as shown in FIG2 , the cell group rotating device 61 can obtain 1/2 cell groups 2 of each transport group at intervals, so that the positive pole ears of two adjacent groups of cell groups 2 are arranged oppositely and the negative pole ears are arranged oppositely. It can be understood that after rotating the cell group 2, the cell group rotating device 61 re-places the cell group 2 on the transfer device 50.

The second transfer device 42 transports the rotated battery cell groups 2 and the non-rotated battery cell groups 2 on the transfer device 50 to the unloading device 62, and makes each rotated battery cell group 2 be paired with each non-rotated battery cell 1 to form a four-battery cell pairing group 3, completing the pairing of four battery cells 1.

As shown in FIG. 2 , in the four-cell paired group 3 , the tabs of the same polarity of the two cell groups 2 are arranged relative to each other to facilitate subsequent tab welding, so as to realize the parallel connection of the four cells in the internal circuit of the battery.

At this time, the battery cell pairing device 100 can complete the pairing of four battery cells 1, and is suitable for producing large-capacity batteries.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 1 , the battery cell 1 pairing arrangement further includes a glue sticking device 71, a glue sticking detection device 72, and a glue sticking recovery device 73, wherein the glue sticking detection device 72 is located downstream of the glue sticking device 71. The glue sticking device 71 is used to stick glue to the battery cell group 2 located in the transfer device 50, the glue sticking detection device 72 is used to detect whether the battery cell group 2 located in the transfer device 50 is qualified for glue sticking, and the glue sticking recovery device 73 is used to recover the battery cell group 2 with unqualified glue sticking.

The specific structure of the glue sticking device 71 can refer to the conventional settings in the art. As an example, the glue sticking device 71 includes a tape unwinding part, a glue sticking part, a release paper tearing part and a glue cutting part. The tape unwinding part is used to unwind a tape roll, the glue cutting part is used to cut a certain length of tape from the tape roll, the glue sticking part is used to absorb the cut tape, the release paper tearing part is used to tear the release paper absorbed on the tape of the glue sticking part from its adhesive layer, and then the glue sticking part adheres the adhesive layer of the tape to the battery group 2 to bundle the two battery cells 1 in the battery group 2.

The glue detection device 72 is located downstream of the glue device 71, and is used to detect whether the glued battery group 2 is qualified. The glue detection device 72 may include a CCD camera, which obtains an image of the glued battery group 2, and then determines whether the glued battery group 2 is qualified according to the image. If the glued battery group 2 is unqualified, the unqualified battery group 2 can be taken away by a robot and recycled to the glue recycling device 73.

In order to replace the removed battery cell group 2, an abnormal processing point can be set at the glue recovery device 73, and the battery cell group 2 with unqualified glue can be processed manually or with relevant processing equipment to make the battery cell group 2 with qualified glue, and then the robot arm will transport the qualified battery cell group 2 back to the transfer device 50 for replacement.

At this time, the glue sticking device 71 can be used to bundle the two battery cells 1 in the battery cell group 2, so that the stacked position of the two battery cells 1 is more secure and stable, which helps to improve the reliability of the battery prepared by the battery cell group 2.

In other embodiments, the cell pairing device 100 may further include a cell group detection device (not shown), which is used to scan and record the model of each cell 1 in the cell group 2, and/or to check the quality of the tabs of each cell 1 in the cell group 2 to prevent the cell group 2 with damaged tabs from entering the production line. Furthermore, the cell group 2 with damaged tabs can be recycled to the cell group recycling device (not shown).

Regarding the layout of the cell pairing device 100, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG1 , the cell stacking device 30 is arranged on the same side of the first loading device 11 and the second loading device 12, and the loading conveyor belts 10b of the first loading device 11 and the second loading device 12 convey the cells 1 in opposite directions. The cell stacking device 30, the loading conveyor belt 10b, the transfer device 50 and the unloading device 62 are transported in parallel. At this time, the structure of the cell pairing device 100 is relatively compact. Specifically, the cell stacking device 30, the transfer device 50 and the unloading device 62 are all transported by means of conveyor belts.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a flipping device 20 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

3 , the flipping device 20 includes a rotating seat 20a and a flipping jaw 20b, and the flipping jaw 20b is disposed on the rotating seat 20a. The rotating seat 20a is configured to be flippable around a set axis X, and can drive the flipping jaw 20b to flip 180 degrees when flipping.

It can be understood that the flipping jaw 20b can be opened and closed to clamp/release the clamped object. When the flipping device 20 is used as the first flipping device 21, the clamped object clamped by the flipping jaw 20b can be the battery cell 1. When the flipping device 20 is used as the second flipping device 22, the clamped object clamped by the flipping jaw 20b can be the battery cell group 2. For example, the flipping jaw 20b includes a double-axis cylinder and two clamping plates, and the two clamping plates are arranged at the two output ends of the double-axis cylinder, and can approach or move away from each other under the drive of the double-axis cylinder.

The rotating seat 20a can reciprocate within a range of 180 degrees around the set axis X under the drive of the rotating motor. The specific structure of the rotating seat 20a can be conventionally set by those skilled in the art. For example, the rotating seat 20a may include a rotating shaft and a seat body connected to the rotating shaft, and the flip clamp 20b is arranged on the seat body. The rotating shaft takes the set axis X as the central axis and rotates under the drive of the rotating motor.

Taking the flip device 20 as the first flip device 21 as an example, in actual application, the rotating seat 20a flips the flip clamp 20b to a position where the battery cell 1 can be clamped, and then drives the flip clamp 20b to flip 180 degrees and be located above the battery cell stacking device 30, and the flip clamp 20b releases the battery cell 1, thereby placing the battery cell 1 on the battery cell stacking device 30. At this time, the flip device 20 has a simple structure and is easy to implement.

In some embodiments, please refer to FIG. 3 , the flipping device 20 includes a plurality of flipping jaws 20 b , each flipping jaw 20 b is arranged at intervals in a direction parallel to the set axis X, and all the flipping jaws 20 b are flipped synchronously under the drive of the rotating base 20 a .

As described above, in actual application, a plurality of first battery cells B are transported as a transport group on the first loading device 11, and a plurality of battery cell groups 2 are transported as a transport group on the battery cell stacking device 30. When the transport group is transported to the station where the flipping device 20 is located, each flipping clamp 20b of the flipping device 20 can simultaneously clamp all battery cells 1/battery cell groups 2 in the same transport group, so that the pairing efficiency of the battery cell pairing device 100 can be accelerated.

In some embodiments, please refer to FIG. 3 , the rotating seat 20a includes a telescopic portion a1 and a mounting portion a2, the mounting portion a2 is disposed on the telescopic portion a1, and the telescopic portion a1 is configured to be flippable around a set axis X and telescopic in a direction intersecting the set axis X. The flip clamp 20b is disposed on the mounting portion a2.

The mounting part a2 can be a plate, a seat, etc., as long as it can realize the mounting of the flip clamp 20b. The telescopic part a1 can be a telescopic cylinder, a telescopic rod, etc., as long as it can be telescopic in the direction intersecting (usually perpendicular to) the set axis X.

Take the flip device 20 clamping the battery cell 1 of the first loading device 11 as an example. In actual application, when the battery cell 1 needs to be flipped, the telescopic part a1 retracts, the rotating seat 20a rotates to the position where the flip jaw 20b can clamp the battery cell 1, and the telescopic part a1 extends so that the flip jaw 20b is inserted into both sides of the battery cell 1, and the flip jaw 20b clamps the battery cell 1. Then, the rotating seat 20a rotates to the battery cell stacking device 30, the flip jaw 20b releases the clamped battery cell 1/battery cell group 2, and the telescopic part a1 drives the flip jaw 20b to retract, and after flipping 180 degrees in the opposite direction, wait for the next group of transported battery cells 1 to be transported to the first loading device 11. In this way, while waiting for the battery cell 1 to be in place, the flip device 20 will not interfere with the transportation of the battery cell 1.

It can be understood that the telescopic direction of the telescopic portion a1 is substantially perpendicular to the clamping direction of the flip clamping claw 20b.

In some embodiments, the flipping device 20 further includes a lifting mechanism (not shown), and the rotating seat 20a is disposed on the lifting mechanism, and the lifting mechanism is used to drive the rotating seat 20a to rise and fall in a direction intersecting the set axis X.

The lifting mechanism is used to drive the rotating seat 20a to rise and fall in the vertical direction. Usually, the axis X is set perpendicular to the vertical direction and located in the horizontal plane. The lifting mechanism can be a lifting cylinder, a lifting motor, etc., and the specific structure is not limited.

In actual application, when the flipping clamp 20b clamps the battery cell 1, the lifting mechanism rises, the rotating seat 20a flips 180 degrees so that the flipping clamp 20b is located above the battery cell stacking device 30, the lifting mechanism descends, the flipping clamp 20b places the battery cell 1 on the battery cell stacking device 30 and releases the battery cell 1, the telescopic part a1 of the rotating seat 20a retracts, driving the flipping clamp 20b to withdraw from the battery cell stacking device 30, the lifting mechanism rises, the rotating seat 20a with the telescopic part a1 retracted flips 180 degrees in the opposite direction, the lifting mechanism descends, and the flipping device 20 waits for the next group of transporting battery cells 1 to be transported to the position by the first loading device 11, and the cycle continues. At this time, the rotating seat 20a flips in the air at a higher altitude, which can reduce the collision between the battery cell 1 and the battery cell stacking device 30 when it is flipped into place, and the battery cell 1 can be protected.

In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 1, the battery cell pairing device 100 also includes a battery cell detection device 81 and a battery cell recovery device 82, the battery cell detection device 81 is used to detect whether the battery cell 1 located on the loading device 10 is qualified, and the battery cell recovery device 82 is used to recover unqualified battery cells 1 on the loading device 10.

The battery cell detection device 81 may include, but is not limited to, a CCD camera, which can obtain an image of the battery cell 1 to determine whether the quality of the battery cell 1 is qualified. Specifically, the battery cell detection device 81 can determine whether the tab of the battery cell 1 is bent, broken, damaged, or other undesirable phenomena based on the image of the battery cell 1.

The battery cell recycling device 82 may be a recycling platform, a recycling box, etc. If the battery cell detection device 81 detects that the battery cell 1 is of unqualified quality, the unqualified battery cell 1 on the feeding device 10 is sent back to the battery cell recycling device 82 by a corresponding transfer device such as a manipulator/conveyor belt.

In this way, the number of cells 1 with unqualified quality flowing into the production line can be reduced, thereby improving the yield rate.

In some embodiments, the battery cell pairing device 100 further includes a good product storage device 91 and a good product transfer device 92, wherein the good product storage device 91 is used to store qualified battery cells 1, and the loading device 10 is used to transport multiple battery cells 1 as a transport group. The good product transfer device 92 is used to transport the battery cells 1 at the good product storage device 91 to the vacant positions of each transport group after the unqualified battery cells 1 in each transport group are recycled to the recycling device; and/or, the good product transfer device 92 is used to transfer the qualified battery cells 1 in each transport group to the good product storage device 91, and to transfer the multiple battery cells 1 at the good product storage device 91 as a transport group to the loading device 10.

When the battery cell detection device 81 detects that there are unqualified battery cells 1 in each transport group, the corresponding transfer device will transport the unqualified battery cells 1 to the battery cell recovery device 82. This will result in an insufficient number of battery cells 1 included in the transport group.

In some cases, the qualified battery cells 1 stored in the good product storage device 91 can be transported to the corresponding vacant positions of the conveying group by the good product transfer device 92, and the vacant positions are replenished with battery cells 1. At this time, the qualified battery cells 1 stored in the good product storage device 91 can be pre-stored.

In other cases, the good product transfer device 92 can first transfer the qualified battery cells 1 in the transport group to the good product storage device 91 for storage. When the qualified battery cells 1 at the good product storage device 91 reach the target number and can be used as a transport group, the good product transfer device 92 can transfer the multiple battery cells 1 that can be used as a transport group at the good product storage device 91 to the loading device 10 for loading.

In other cases, when the number of qualified battery cells 1 in the transport group reaches a preset number, the good product transfer device 92 can fill the qualified battery cells 1 stored on the good product storage device 91 to the vacant positions in the transport group; when the number of qualified battery cells 1 in the transport group does not reach the preset number, the good product transfer device 92 can first transfer the qualified battery cells 1 in the transport group to the good product storage device 91; when the battery cells 1 at the good product storage device 91 can form a transport group, the multiple battery cells 1 at the good product storage device 91 that can serve as a transport group are transferred back to the loading device 10 for loading.

In this way, each conveying group can be supplemented by the battery cells 1 on the good product storage device 91, or the qualified battery cells 1 at the good product storage device 91 can be transported to the loading device 10 as a conveying group, which can speed up the grouping of qualified conveying groups of all battery cells 1 and improve the production efficiency of the battery cell pairing equipment 100.

With reference to FIG. 2 and in combination with FIG. 1 , the working process of the cell pairing device 100 in a specific embodiment of the present disclosure is described in detail.

The first loading device 11 transports 2N first battery cells B as a transport group, and the second loading device 12 transports 2N second battery cells A as a transport group. During transportation, the battery cell detection device 81 detects whether the quality of the battery cells 1 in each transport group is qualified, and the unqualified battery cells 1 are transported to the battery cell recovery device 82, and the qualified battery cells 1 are obtained from the good product storage device 91 to fill the vacant positions of the transport group;

The first conveying group including 2N qualified first battery cells B arrives at the station where the first flipping device 21 is located. The first flipping device 21 clamps and synchronously flips each first battery cell B in the first conveying group, and places the first battery cells B in the first conveying group at the battery cell stacking device 30. The second loading device 12 transfers and stacks the second conveying group including 2N qualified second battery cells A on the first conveying group at the battery cell stacking device 30, and makes each second battery cell A stacked on each first battery cell B, thereby obtaining 2N battery cell groups 2 on the battery cell stacking device 30.

The cell stacking device 30 transports the 2N cell groups 2 in the transport group as the third transport group to the workstations where the second flipping device 22 and the first transfer device 41 are located. For each cell group 2 in the third transport group on the cell stacking device 30, the second flipping device 2 flips the cell group 2 at the odd position by 180 degrees and places it at the transfer device 50, and the first transfer device 41 directly transfers the cell group 2 at the even position to the transfer device 50, and the flipped cell group 2 is placed adjacent to the unflipped cell group 2 at the transfer device 50;

The transfer device 50 transports 2N battery cell groups 2 in the same transport group to the station where the battery cell group rotating device 61 is located. For the battery cell groups 2 in the same transport group on the transfer device 50, the battery cell group rotating device 61 rotates the battery cell groups 2 at odd positions by 180 degrees or rotates the battery cell groups 2 at even positions by 180 degrees. Then, the second transfer device 42 places the battery cell groups 2 in each transport group in pairs on the unloading device 62 according to the arrangement order to form N groups of four-cell paired groups 3.

The unloading device 62 unloads the four-cell paired group 3 .

The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

The above-described embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present disclosure, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present disclosure, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims (10)

A battery cell pairing device (100), comprising: A battery cell stacking device (30); The feeding device (10) comprises: A first loading device (11) for transporting a first battery cell (B); A second loading device (12) is used to transport the second battery cell (A) to the battery cell stacking device (30); and At least one turning device (20) comprising: The first flipping device (21) is flippably arranged around a set axis (X), and during the flipping process, the first battery cell (B) located at the first loading device (11) can be flipped 180 degrees and placed on the battery cell stacking device (30), so as to form a battery cell group (2) formed by stacking the first battery cell (B) and the second battery cell (A) on the battery cell stacking device (30). The battery cell pairing device (100) according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell pairing device (100) further comprises a transfer device (50) and a first transfer device (41); the at least one flipping device (20) further comprises a second flipping device (22); The first transfer device (41) and the second flipping device (22) are both used to obtain a battery cell group (2) from the battery cell stacking device (30), and the second flipping device (22) is used to flip the obtained battery cell group (2) 180 degrees around an axis parallel to the set axis (X) and then place it on the transfer device (50); The transfer device (50) is used to receive the battery cell group (2) transported by the second flipping device (22) and the battery cell group (2) transported by the first transfer device (41). The battery cell pairing device (100) according to claim 2, wherein the battery cell pairing device (100) further comprises a battery cell group rotating device (61), a second transfer device (42) and a material unloading device (62); The cell group rotating device (61) is used to rotate the cell group (2) located on the transfer device (50) by 180 degrees around an axis perpendicular to the set axis (X) at intervals; The second transfer device (42) is used to transport each battery cell group (2) on the transfer device (50) to the unloading device (62), so as to form a four-battery cell pairing group (3) on the unloading device (62) consisting of a rotated battery cell group (2) and a non-rotated battery cell group (2); The unloading device (62) is used for unloading the four-cell paired group (3). The battery cell pairing device (100) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the battery cell pairing device (100) further comprises a glue sticking device (71), a glue sticking detection device (72) and a glue sticking recovery device (73); the glue sticking detection device (72) is located downstream of the glue sticking device (71); The glue sticking device (71) is used to stick glue to the battery cell group (2) located in the transfer device (50); the glue sticking detection device (72) is used to detect whether the battery cell group (2) located in the transfer device (50) is qualified for glue sticking; and the glue sticking recovery device (73) is used to recover the battery cell group (2) with unqualified glue sticking. The cell pairing device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the flipping device (20) comprises a rotating seat (20a) and a flipping clamp (20b); the flipping clamp (20b) is arranged on the rotating seat (20a); The rotating seat (20a) is configured to be flippable around the set axis (X), and can drive the flip clamp (20b) to flip 180 degrees when flipping. The cell pairing device (100) according to claim 5, wherein the flipping device (20) comprises a plurality of flipping jaws (20b), each of the flipping jaws (20b) being arranged at intervals in a direction parallel to the set axis (X); and all of the flipping jaws (20b) are flipped synchronously under the drive of the rotating seat (20a). The battery cell pairing device (100) according to claim 5, wherein the rotating seat (20a) comprises a telescopic portion (a1) and a mounting portion (a2), and the mounting portion (a2) is arranged on the telescopic portion (a1); The telescopic portion (a1) is configured to be flippable around the set axis (X) and telescopic in a direction intersecting the set axis (X); The flip clamp (20b) is arranged on the mounting portion (a2). The battery cell pairing device (100) according to claim 5, wherein the flipping device (20) further comprises a lifting mechanism, the rotating seat (20a) is arranged on the lifting mechanism, and the lifting mechanism is used to drive the rotating seat (20a) to rise and fall in a direction intersecting the set axis (X). The battery cell pairing device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the battery cell pairing device (100) further comprises a battery cell detection device (81) and a battery cell recovery device (82); The battery cell detection device (81) is used to detect whether the battery cells (1) located on the feeding device (10) are qualified, and the battery cell recovery device (82) is used to recover unqualified battery cells (1) on the feeding device (10). The battery cell pairing device (100) according to claim 9, wherein the battery cell pairing device (100) further comprises a good product storage device (91) and a good product transfer device (92); the good product storage device (91) is used to store qualified battery cells (1); The loading device (10) is used to transport a plurality of battery cells (1) as a transport group; The good product transfer device (92) is used to transport the good product storage device (91) to the vacant position of each transport group after the unqualified battery cells (1) in the transport group are recovered to the recovery device; and/or, The good product transfer device (92) is used to transfer the qualified battery cells (1) in each of the transport groups to the good product storage device (91), and is used to transfer the multiple battery cells (1) at the good product storage device (91) as one of the transport groups to the loading device (10).