Detailed Description
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar function throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are exemplary only for explaining the present embodiment, and are not to be construed as limiting the present embodiment.
In the description of the present embodiment, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by referring to the orientation description, such as up, down, front, rear, left, right, etc., is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for convenience of description of the present embodiment and simplification of description, and does 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 thus, should not be construed as limiting the present embodiment.
In the description of the present embodiment, a plurality of the terms are one or more, a plurality of the terms are two or more, and the terms larger, smaller, larger, etc. are understood to include no essential numbers, and the terms larger, smaller, etc. are understood to include essential numbers. If the first and second are described for the purpose of distinguishing technical features, they are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated or implicitly indicating the precedence of the technical features indicated.
In the description of the present embodiment, unless otherwise explicitly limited, terms such as arrangement, installation, connection and the like should be broadly construed, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above terms in the present embodiment in combination with the specific contents of the technical solutions.
Fig. 1 and 2 are perspective views of the sealing device for a battery pour hole according to the present embodiment from different perspectives, respectively, and fig. 14 is a schematic view of an example of a rivet 101 and a gasket 102. Referring to fig. 1 and 2 with additional reference to fig. 14, the sealing device for a battery pour hole according to the present embodiment mainly includes a charging device 100 and a sealing device 200. The sealing device 200 mainly includes: a battery positioning portion 201, a rivet mounting portion 202, and a collar portion 203. The feeding device 100 is used for feeding a rivet 101, wherein a sealing ring 102 is sleeved on a rivet body of the rivet 101. The battery positioning portion 201 positions the battery 204. The rivet mounting portion 202 has a rivet gun 205, and the rivet gun 205 takes the rivet 101 from the loading device and rivets the rivet 101 into a pour hole 207 of a top cover 206 of the battery 204. The collar portion 203 is disposed at one end of the tip 208 of the riveter 205 and can abut the top cover 206 and surround the pour hole 207. The collar portion 203 has a second sleeve 209, the second sleeve 209 being sealed from the lance tip 208. The second sleeve 209 is opened with a first hole 210 penetrating a wall portion on one side of the second sleeve 209, and a first seal 211 is provided at an axial end portion (lower end portion in the drawing) of the second sleeve 209.
According to the sealing device for a battery filler hole of the present embodiment, the filler hole 207 of the battery 204 is sealed with the rivet 101 using the rivet 205, which can not only reduce the production cost but also improve the sealing quality.
Specifically, the battery 204 may be, for example, a square-case battery used as an electric vehicle. In the prior art, the liquid injection hole 207 of the batteries 204 is usually sealed by a sealing nail. However, in the prior art, the liquid injection hole 207 is usually sealed by laser welding. As a laser welding process, it is necessary to dispose not only a laser but also, for example, a dust removing device, a water cooling device, and the like, which is expensive and requires a very large space. In addition, problems such as explosion spots, pinholes, pits, cold solder joints, and the like are also likely to occur by laser welding, which may affect the yield of battery sealing. Further, the welding time required for laser welding is also long, which affects the production efficiency. In addition, in some batteries, the position of the liquid inlet is close to the position of the explosion-proof valve, and there is a possibility that spatters generated during laser welding may splash on the explosion-proof valve. Therefore, in order to seal the liquid inlet by laser welding, it is necessary to provide other auxiliary equipment or protective equipment in addition to the laser welding itself, and the sealing method is complicated and the number of steps is large.
In the sealing device for a battery pour hole according to the present embodiment, the pour hole 207 of the battery 204 is rivet-sealed using, for example, a rivet (for example, a drawn rivet) 101 composed of a long nail 101c (which is described here only in a general term in the art compared to the rivet 101d and is not intended to limit the length of the member) having a rod shape and the rivet 101d, and a series of problems derived from a laser welding process can be avoided, completely different from the laser welding method of the related art. The sealing is performed through the riveting process, and the rivet pulling process for the liquid injection hole 207 can be completed only by configuring the rivet gun 205, so that the cost is greatly reduced.
Further, by disposing, for example, the packing 102 at one end of the rivet body 101d of the rivet 101, the sealing performance of the pour hole 207 can be further improved. For example, when the rivet 101 is used, the rivet 205 may be used, and the rivet 205 may perform the first resealing of the pour hole 207 by causing the rivet body 101d to expand and deform when the spike 101c is pulled. The packing 102 disposed at one end of the rivet body 101d is also pressed and deformed, and thus the liquid inlet 207 can be secondarily sealed. This improves the sealing performance of the liquid inlet 207 of the battery, and prevents leakage of the electrolyte solution, inert gas, or the like in the case of the battery 204.
Further, since the collar portion 203 having the second sleeve 209 is disposed at one end of the lance tip 208, the second sleeve 209 is opened with the first hole portion 210, and the axial end portion of the second sleeve 209 is provided with the first seal 211. Thus, the battery pour hole sealing device of the present embodiment can seal the periphery of the pour hole 207 by surrounding it with the second sleeve 209, and can perform the evacuation process and the inert gas injection process for the battery 204.
Therefore, the sealing device for a battery filling hole according to the present embodiment uses the sealing device 200 to which the caulking sealing process is applied, and thus not only can the sealing cost be greatly reduced, but also the sealing performance can be improved. Further, since the caulking process is used, it is possible to integrate a member (collar portion 203) that performs, for example, a vacuum process and an inert gas injection process, with the rivet mounting portion 202, thereby making the apparatus itself more compact, and further reducing the production cost and improving the production efficiency.
Further, the sealing device for a battery filling hole according to the present embodiment includes the charging device 100, so that the degree of automation is greatly improved, and the production efficiency can be further improved.
Hereinafter, each device of the present embodiment will be described in detail.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the loading device 100, fig. 4 is a perspective view of a part of the essential parts of the first loading section 103 and the second loading section 104, fig. 5 is a perspective view of the first robot section 105, fig. 6 is a perspective view of another part of the essential parts of the first loading section 103 and the second loading section 104, fig. 7 is a partially enlarged view of a portion a in fig. 6, and fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a portion B-B in fig. 6.
Referring to fig. 3 to 8, and with additional reference to fig. 1, 2, and 14, the charging device 100 may be attached to the upper surface of the base 112 of the battery pour hole sealing device, or may be partially attached to the upper surface of the base 112 and partially attached to the lower surface of the base 112, as necessary. The loading device 100 may include: a first loading section 103 for loading the rivet 101, a second loading section 104 for loading the seal ring 102, and a first robot section 105 for assembling the rivet 101 and the seal ring 102. The first feeding section 103 includes a first sleeve 106 and a first feeding section 107, and the first sleeve 106 and the first feeding section 107 are butted and guide and hold the rivet 101 fed from the first feeding section 107. The second feeding section 104 includes a first supporting seat 108 and a second feeding section 109, and the first supporting seat 108 and the second feeding section 109 are butted and hold the seal ring 102 fed from the second feeding section 109. The first robot section 105 includes a first driving section 110 and a first clamping section 111 mounted on the first driving section 110, and the first clamping section 111 clamps the rivet 101 and is driven by the first driving section 110 so that the rivet 101 is inserted into the seal ring 102.
In the sealing device for a battery filling hole of the present embodiment, the rivet 101 and the gasket 102 can be automatically loaded and assembled by providing the loading device 100, thereby improving the production efficiency. Referring to fig. 14, examples of the rivet 101 include: a wire drawing rivet or a clinch rivet, etc., which is composed of a long nail 101c having a rod shape and a rivet body 101 d. The seal ring 102 includes, for example: o-ring seals, and the like.
Referring to fig. 4, 6, and with additional reference to fig. 3, in some embodiments, the first feeding portion 107 includes: a feeding driving part 113 and a first feeding channel 114. One end of the first feeding passage 114 communicates with the feeding driving portion 113, and the other end of the first feeding passage 114 is butted against the first sleeve 106. Specifically, for example, the base 112 may have a first mounting plate 115 attached thereto, and the first sleeve 106 may be attached to the first mounting plate 115. In order to accurately retain the rivets 101 within the first sleeve 106, a first feed channel 114 may be provided above the first sleeve 106.
The first feeding portion 107 may include a first vibration plate (not shown) for storing and discharging the rivets 101. The first vibratory pan may be provided on the base 112 or may be provided below the base 112. In order to make the positions of the respective members on the base 112 more compact, the first vibratory pan is preferably disposed below the base 112.
The feed driving part 113 may be butted against the first vibratory plate to transfer the rivets 101 fed from the first vibratory plate to the first sleeve 106 via the first feed passage 114. As the feed driving section 113, a driving device driven by high-pressure air may be selected. For example, the feed driving part 113 may include a gas blowing part 116. Correspondingly, the first feeding passage 114 may include a feeding pipe 117, one end of the feeding pipe 117 communicates with the gas blowing part 116, and the other end of the feeding pipe 117 is butted against the first sleeve 106. The structure of the gas blowing section 116 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a blowing device of a conventional and commercially available blowing screw feeder. Further, the feed pipe 117 may be selected from known ones used in, for example, existing pneumatic control such as: polyurethane tubes, teflon tubes, nylon tubes, and the like. The inner diameter of the feed pipe 117 is not particularly limited as long as the rivet 101 can smoothly pass through. For example, the outer diameter of the largest portion of rivet 101 may be selected.
With continued reference to fig. 4, and with additional reference to fig. 3, in some embodiments, to increase the versatility of the feed tube 117, the first feed portion 107 may further comprise: an adjusting bracket 118, the feeding pipe 117 is installed on the adjusting bracket 118, and the bending radius of the feeding pipe 117 can be adjusted by the adjusting bracket 118. The adjusting bracket 118 may be combined by a plurality of adjusting rods 119 adjustable in the XYZ axis directions, for example. The adjustment lever 119 is provided with a mounting bracket 120, and the mounting bracket 120 holds one end (upper end) of the feed pipe 117 that is butted against the first sleeve 106. The upper end of the feed pipe 117 is bent in a semicircular shape and is mounted on the adjustment bracket 118. The radius of curvature of the feed tube 117 can be changed when the position of the mounting bracket 120 is adjusted in the axial direction of the adjustment lever 119. Thus, the radius of curvature of the feed pipe 117 can be adjusted according to the length of the rivet 101, and when the length of the rivet 101 is too long, the radius of curvature of the feed pipe 117 can be increased appropriately. This can improve the versatility of the feed pipe 117.
With continued reference to fig. 4, 6, in some embodiments, to facilitate the first robot section 105 to grip the rivet 101, the first feeding section 103 may further include: and a second support seat 121, the second support seat 121 supporting the rivet 101 fed out from the first feeding part 107. The first sleeve 106 is disposed above the second support base 121 and is switchable between a first position (upper position) and a second position (lower position) in the vertical direction. In a state where the first sleeve 106 is at the first position, the first sleeve 106 abuts the other end of the first feeding passage 114 and holds the rivet 101 fed from the first feeding portion 107. In the state where the first sleeve 106 is in the second position, at least the upper end portion of the rivet 101 is exposed outside the first sleeve 106. Specifically, the second support base 121 is mounted on the first mounting plate 115, for example, and is located below the first sleeve 106. The second support seat 121 may have a shaft shape, for example. The first sleeve 106 is axially penetrated, and the upper end of the second support seat 121 is inserted into the first sleeve 106. The axial length of the first sleeve 106 may be longer than the axial length of the rivet 101, for example. The first sleeve 106 is slid in the up-down direction by, for example, driving of a first cylinder 122 attached to the first mounting plate 115. When the first sleeve 106 is in the first position (sliding in the up direction), the upper end of the first sleeve 106 is in abutment with the feeder tube 117. Thus, the rivet 101 blown and delivered by the gas blowing section 116 is accurately dropped onto the second support base 121 by being guided by the first sleeve 106. When the first sleeve 106 is driven in the downward direction by the first cylinder 122, the first sleeve 106 is switched to the second position. At this time, the upper end of the rivet 101 is exposed outside the first sleeve 106, so that the first hand 105 can easily grip the rivet 101.
In this embodiment, by providing the second support seat 121 for supporting the rivet 101 and allowing the first sleeve 106 to be switched in the vertical direction, the rivet 101 can be easily gripped by the first robot part 105 and the stability of the discharge of the rivet 101 can be improved. For example, in the case where the rivet 101 is elongated (that is, the length of the rivet 101 in the axial direction is much greater than the diameter thereof), by setting the length of the first sleeve 106 in the axial direction to be longer than the length of the rivet 101 in the axial direction, the stroke of the first sleeve 106 in guiding the rivet 101 can be increased, so that the rivet 101 can be caused to fall through the first sleeve 106 in a self-adjusting manner, and the stability of the rivet 101 held by the second support seat 121 can be improved. This can improve the holding accuracy when the first hand 105 holds the rivet 101.
Referring to fig. 8, in addition, in some embodiments, in order to further improve the positioning accuracy of the rivet 101, the upper end of the second support seat 121 may be provided with a first positioning hole 121a for positioning the lower end of the rivet 101. The shape of the first positioning hole 121a is not particularly limited, and may be set according to the shape of the lower end portion of the rivet 101.
In addition, although the above description has been made of an example in which the first vibratory plate is provided on the lower surface of the base 112, the rivet 101 is fed by the feed driving unit 113 having the gas blowing unit 116, and the feed driving unit 113 and the first sleeve 106 are connected to each other with the feed pipe 117 as the first feed passage 114, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the first vibratory pan may be disposed on the base 112 and directly abut the first sleeve 106. In this case, the linear vibrator of the first vibratory pan may be used as the feed driving unit 113, and the discharge passage of the first vibratory pan (also referred to as a first discharge passage for convenience of distinction) may be used as the first feed passage 114.
In the above description, the first sleeve 106 is inserted in the axial direction to guide the rivet 101. However, it is not limited thereto, and for example, the first sleeve 106 may not be penetrated, and the length of the first sleeve 106 in the axial direction may be set shorter than the length of the rivet 101. This enables the rivet 101 fed through the first feed passage 114 to be directly fed and placed on the first sleeve 106.
Referring to fig. 5, with additional reference to fig. 3, after the rivet 101 is held in the second support seat 121 (or the first sleeve 106), the first manipulator section 105 can access the rivet 101. Specifically, the first robot section 105 is provided on the base 112 and located on the rear side of the first loading section 103. The first driving unit 110 of the first robot section 105 can drive in the left-right direction of the base 112. The device selected by the first driving unit 110 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include: two-axis manipulators, three-axis manipulators, four-axis manipulators, six-axis manipulators and the like. The stroke of these robots is not particularly limited as long as the robots can cover, for example, the first loading unit 103 and the second loading unit 104. The first clamping unit 111 is mounted on the end of these robots. Similarly, the device of the first clamping portion 111 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include: pneumatic clamping jaws, electric clamping jaws, and the like.
The first clamping section 111 of the first robot section 105 can clamp the upper end of the rivet 101, for example, and transfer the rivet 101 to the position of the second feeding section 104.
Referring to fig. 4, 6, and 7, and with additional reference to fig. 3, as described above, the second loading section 104 is provided at a position where it can be covered by the first robot section 105, for feeding out the seal ring 102. Specifically, the second loading section 104 is provided on the base 112, and is provided on the front side of the first robot section 105 and on the left side of the first loading section 103.
In some embodiments, the second feeding part 109 as the second feeding part 104 may include a second vibration plate 123, and the second vibration plate 123 is butted against the first support seat 108. Specifically, the second vibratory pan 123 is provided on the base 112, and the second vibratory pan 123 is provided, for example, on the front side of the base 112. The first support 108 can be switched between a position where it is in abutment with the discharge channel of the second vibratory pan 123 (also called the position where the second discharge channel 125 is in abutment for the sake of distinction) and a position where it blocks the second discharge channel 125 by means of the second cylinder 124. The seal ring 102 fed out through the second discharge passage 125 can be transferred to the first support seat 108 while the second cylinder 124 drives the first support seat 108 and the second discharge passage 125 to be butted against each other. In the case where the sealing ring 102 is placed on the first support seat 108, the second cylinder 124 may actuate the first support seat 108 to switch positions so as to block the second discharging passage 125 through the first support seat 108 while facilitating the assembly of the rivet 101 and the sealing ring 102.
With continued reference to fig. 7, the first support seat 108 may be provided with a substantially semi-circular first receiving groove 126 for receiving and positioning the sealing ring 102. Further, in some embodiments, the first support seat 108 is provided with an escape hole 127, and the inner ring of the seal ring 102 and the escape hole 127 are substantially coaxial in a state where the seal ring 102 is held in the first support seat 108. Thus, by providing the relief hole 127, the rivet 101 can be prevented from hitting the first support seat 108 when the rivet 101 and the seal ring 102 are assembled.
In a case where the first robot part 105 transfers the rivet 101 to the position of the second feeding part 109 and the seal ring 102 is placed on the first support seat 108, the first robot part 105 may drive the first clamping part 111 to descend so as to insert the rivet 101 into the inner ring of the seal ring 102. This completes the assembly of seal ring 102 and rivet 101. Rivet 101 may be an interference fit with the inner ring of seal ring 102. In a state where the rivet 101 and the inner ring of the seal ring 102 are in interference fit, the rivet 101 can be transferred and the seal ring 102 can be transferred together.
With continued reference to fig. 6, 7, in some embodiments, the loading device 100 may further include a transition section 128. The relay section 128 includes: a relay holder 129 and a relay clamp 130. The relay holder 129 holds the rivet body 101d of the rivet 101 fitted with the seal ring 102 transferred by the first robot part 105. The intermediate clamping portion 130 may include, for example, a first clamping member 131 and a second clamping member 132, and the first clamping member 131 and the second clamping member 132 clamp the upper end portion of the rivet 101. Specifically, the relay portion 128 is used to temporarily mount the rivet body 101d of the rivet 101 fitted with the seal ring 102. The relay section 128 is provided on the base 112 and at a position capable of being covered by the first robot section 105. The transfer section 128 is provided, for example, on the left side of the second loading section 104. The relay holder 129 of the relay portion 128 is provided with, for example, a second positioning hole 133 for holding and positioning the rivet body 101d of the rivet 101. The first and second clamps 131 and 132 are provided on both sides of the relay holder 129. The first and second clamps 131 and 132 may be driven toward or away from each other by, for example, a third air cylinder 134. When the length of the rivet 101 in the axial direction is long and the rivet 101 is held in the second positioning hole 133 of the intermediary holding seat 129, the third cylinder 134 can drive the first clamping member 131 and the second clamping member 132 to approach each other and clamp the spike 101c of the rivet 101. This can reliably hold the rivet 101 and prevent the rivet 101 from wobbling.
By providing the transfer portion 128, the inconsistency of the man-hours between different stations can be alleviated for a certain period of time. For example, when the efficiency of the loading apparatus 100 is higher than that of the sealing apparatus 200, the transit portion 128 is provided, so that the rivet 101 and the seal ring 102 that have been assembled can be buffered, and the loading apparatus 100 can be prevented from waiting for a failure. Further, the positioning accuracy of the rivet 101 can be improved to some extent by providing the relay portion 128. For example, the rivet 101 may be positioned a second time by the intermediary holding seat 129, the first clamping member 131 and the second clamping member 132 to improve the precision of the rivet 101 obtained by the riveter 205.
Fig. 9 is a partially enlarged view at C in fig. 2, fig. 10 is a perspective view of the sealing device 200, fig. 11 is a schematic perspective view of essential portions of the rivet mounting portion 202 and the collar portion 203, fig. 12 is a partial sectional view of the rivet mounting portion 202 and the collar portion 203, and fig. 13 is an enlarged view at D in fig. 12. In fig. 9, for convenience of illustration, only the main portion is shown.
Referring to fig. 9-13, and with additional reference to fig. 1 and 2, as described above, the sealing device 200 may include: a battery positioning portion 201, a rivet mounting portion 202, and a collar portion 203.
The battery positioning portion 201 may be provided on the base 112. The structure of the battery positioning portion 201 is not particularly limited, and for example, a known positioning jig 212 for positioning the square-casing battery 204 used in these electric vehicles can be used. The manner of loading and clamping the battery 204 is not particularly limited, and may be a manual loading manner, a manual clamping manner, or a clamping manner by a robot.
In order to easily pick up the rivet 101 sent out from the feeding device 100, the base 112 may be provided with a second robot part 213, the rivet mounting part 202 and the collar part 203 may be mounted on a distal end of the second robot part 213, and the second robot part 213 drives the riveter 205 to pick up the rivet 101 from the intermediate rotating part 128. As the actuator of the second manipulator unit 213, for example: a two-axis robot driven along the X-axis and the Z-axis, and a three-axis robot driven along the XYZ-axis. A first attachment base 214 is mounted on the end of the second manipulator section 213, and the rivet gun 205 of the rivet attachment section 202 is attached to the first attachment base 214. The riveter 205 may be, for example, a hand riveter 205 a. Examples of the riveter 205a include: pneumatic hand riveters, electric hand riveters, hydraulic hand riveters, and the like. These riveters 205a may be selected from commercially available riveters, and the riveters 205a are mounted to the first mount 214 by, for example, a riveter mount 215. The second manipulator section 213 drives the rivet gun 205 to take the rivet 101 from the position of the relay section 128, and drives the rivet gun 205 to the battery positioning section 201 on which the battery 204 is placed, thereby caulking the liquid pouring hole 207 of the top cover 206 of the battery 204.
With continued reference to fig. 9, in order to improve the accuracy of caulking, the battery pour hole sealing device of the present embodiment further includes a first position detection unit 300. The first position detecting unit 300 is provided to detect the positions of the rivet body 101d of the rivet 101 picked up by the rivet gun 205 and the seal ring 102 fitted around the rivet body 101 d. Specifically, the first position detecting unit 300 is provided on the base 112 and is provided between the transfer unit 128 of the loading device 100 and the sealing device 200 in the left-right direction. The first position detecting unit 300 is located within a range of travel that can be covered by the second robot unit 213. After the first robot 105 has completed the process of inserting the rivet 101 into the inner ring of the packing 102, the rivet 101 may be displaced from the packing 102 due to machining, assembly, and the like, and the packing 102 may not be accurately fitted to the rivet 101d of the rivet 101, and the rivet 101 may be displaced from the rivet 205a after the rivet 205a has received the rivet 101 due to the long length of the rivet 101. The actuator of the first position detecting unit 300 is not particularly limited, and various visual detecting elements such as a CCD may be selected.
With continued reference to fig. 10 and 11, the second hand portion 213 drives the collar portion 203 into contact with the top cover 206, and the riveter 205a can perform rivetting when the collar portion 203 is in contact with the top cover 206. In a state where the collar portion 203 abuts the top lid 206 and surrounds the pour hole 207, the first seal 211 abuts the top lid 206 of the battery 204 and surrounds the pour hole 207 to seal between the top lid 206 and the second sleeve 209. The type of the first seal 211 is not particularly limited, and a known O-ring seal, a seal packing, or the like may be selected, for example.
With continued reference to fig. 12 and 13, in some embodiments, the second sleeve 209 further defines a second hole portion 216. Specifically, the second sleeve 209 is, for example, annular, and the second sleeve 209 is coaxially disposed at one end of the tip 208 of the blind rivet gun 205 a. The gap between the inside of the second sleeve 209 and the outside of the lance tip 208 is sealed. The first hole portion 210 and the second hole portion 216 are opened along a circumferential wall portion of the second sleeve 209 and penetrate through the circumferential wall portion of the second sleeve 209. Both the first hole portion 210 and the second hole portion 216 may be used for mounting the air pipe joint 217, wherein the first hole portion 210 is connected to an inert gas storage device (not shown), and the second hole portion 216 is connected to a vacuum pumping device (not shown). The type of the inert gas is not particularly limited as long as it can be used for the battery 204, and for example, helium gas commonly used for the conventional battery 204 may be selected. As the vacuum extractor, a conventional commercially available vacuum extractor can be selected. By directly forming the first hole portion 210 for connecting the inert gas storage means and the second hole portion 216 for connecting the evacuation means on the second sleeve 209, the entire structure of the sealing device 200 of the present embodiment can be made more compact, and the evacuation and helium filling processes of the battery 204 can be easily performed.
In the above description, the first hole portion 210 and the second hole portion 216 are opened in the second sleeve 209 as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the evacuation and helium filling processes of the battery 204 may be performed through one first hole portion 210 by opening only the first hole portion 210 in the second sleeve 209 and then controlling the opening/closing, switching, and the like of the first hole portion 210 by, for example, a solenoid valve or the like.
With continued reference to fig. 13, in some embodiments, the collar portion 203 further comprises a transfer joint 218, an axial end of the transfer joint 218 being connected to the tip 208 of the riveter 205a, and an end of the rivet 101 extending into the tip 208 via the transfer joint 218. The collar portion 203 can thereby be connected directly to the end of the tip 208 of the riveter 205a via the transfer joint 218. Specifically, the intermediate joint 218 is penetrated in the axial direction, for example. One axial end of the intermediate joint 218 is provided with a connecting thread. Before using the riveter 205a, a commercially available riveter sleeve (not shown) of the tip 208 of the riveter 205a is removed to expose the internally threaded end of the tip 208, and then the transfer joint 218 is attached to the end of the tip 208 of the riveter 205 a.
By providing the intermediate joint 218, it is possible to easily fit other components of the collar portion 203 to the head 208 of the riveter 205a, thereby achieving integration of the collar portion 203 and the rivet mounting portion 202, which perform, for example, a vacuum evacuation process and an inert gas injection process.
For example, in some embodiments, the second sleeve 209 fits over the intermediate joint 218, and a second seal 219 is disposed between the second sleeve 209 and the intermediate joint 218. By providing the transition joint 218, the gap between the inside of the second sleeve 209 and the lance tip 208 can be easily sealed. As described above, the second sleeve 209 is sealed from the lance tip 208. In particular, since the riveter 205a is a commercially available piece, it is not easy to seal between the tip 208 of the riveter 205a and the inside of the second sleeve 209. In the present embodiment, by providing the intermediate joint 218, sealing can be easily performed between the intermediate joint 218 and the inside of the second sleeve 209. For example, the intermediate joint 218 may be provided with an installation groove 220 for installing the second sealing member 219, and the second sealing member 219 may be, for example, an O-ring, and is accommodated in the installation groove 220. Further, the second sleeve 209 is fitted over the outer circumference of the intermediate joint 218, whereby the sealing between the second sleeve 209 and the intermediate joint 218 can be easily achieved.
In some embodiments, the other axial end of the intermediate joint 218 may be provided with a third seal 221, one end of the rivet 101 (e.g., the spike 101c of the rivet 101) is inserted into the intermediate joint 218 via the third seal 221, and the rivet body 101d of the rivet 101 abuts against the third seal 221. Specifically, when the second sleeve 209 is fitted around the outer periphery of the intermediate joint 218, the space between the inside of the second sleeve 209 and the interior of the riveter 205a is not sealed. By providing the third seal 221 at the other end of the intermediate joint 218 in the axial direction and bringing the rivet body 101d of the rivet 101 into contact with the third seal 221, the space between the inside of the second sleeve 209 and the inside of the riveter 205a can be sealed. Similarly, the type of the third seal 221 is not particularly limited, and an O-ring, a seal packing, or the like may be selected, for example.
Thus, even with a commercially available riveter 205a, the arrangement of the transfer joint 218 makes it possible to easily integrate the riveter 205a with the collar portion 203 for performing, for example, a vacuum-pumping process and an inert gas injection process, thereby making it possible to make the entire structure of the sealing device 200 more compact. Further, according to the sealing device 200 of the present embodiment, the helium injection step can be performed directly after the evacuation step is performed, and the caulking operation can be performed directly after the helium injection step is performed without changing the station or the mechanism again, so that the number of steps for the sealing step of the injection hole 207 can be reduced greatly, and the productivity can be improved.
In some embodiments, to facilitate the configuration of the collar portion 203, the collar portion 203 may further include a second mount 222, the second mount 222 being secured to the lance tip 208. Specifically, the second mounting seat 222 is, for example, in the form of a snap ring, and is detachably clamped to the tip 208 of the riveter 205 a. By directly clamping the second mounting block 222, which is the primary mounting for the collar portion 203, to the head 208 of the riveter 205a, the collar portion 203 can be easily arranged, and the collar portion 203 and the riveter 205a can be easily operated as a unit. Further, in order to suppress the impact force when the second sleeve 209 abuts the cap 206, the second sleeve 209 may be provided to be floatably mounted to the second mount 222 in the axial direction of the lance tip 208. Specifically, for example, the second sleeve 209 may be mounted to the second mount 222 via a connection post 223, the connection post 223 being slidable relative to the second mount 222 in the axial direction of the lance tip 208. A buffer spring 224 may be sleeved on the connection post 223, one axial end of the buffer spring 224 abuts against the second mounting seat 222, and the other axial end of the buffer spring 224 abuts against the second sleeve 209.
Thus, when the second manipulator section 213 drives the collar section 203 to abut against the top lid 206 of the battery 204, the first seal 211 abuts against the top lid 206 and surrounds the liquid pouring hole 207. As the second manipulator portion 213 continues to be actuated, the second sleeve 209 continues to be actuated toward the top cover 206, thereby causing the first seal 211 to be squeezed to deform. While the second sleeve 209 presses the first seal 211, the damper spring 224 is compressed due to the reaction force of the second sleeve 209. Meanwhile, when the second manipulator section 213 continues to be driven, the second mounting base 222 slides relative to the connection column 223, and the intermediate joint 218 slides relative to the second sleeve 209. This allows the pressure of the damper spring 224 to be directly applied to the top cover 206, and prevents the driving force of the second hand portion 213 from being directly applied to the top cover 206.
When the pressure of the damper spring 224 acting on the top cover 206 needs to be adjusted, the damper spring 224 of a different specification may be replaced.
With continued reference to fig. 11, further, to effectively monitor the pressure of the collar portion 203 against the cap 206, in some embodiments, the sealing device 200 may further include a pressure detection portion 225, the pressure detection portion 225 being configured to detect the pressure of the collar portion 203 against the cap 206. Specifically, the pressure detection unit 225 may include, for example, a pressure sensor or a load cell, and when the collar portion 203 abuts against the top cover 206, the pressure detection unit 225 detects the pressure applied to the top cover 206 by the collar portion 203. Taking the load cell as an example, the specific mounting position of the load cell is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, between the buffer spring 224 and the second mounting seat 222, or may be directly mounted on the riveter mounting seat 215. Thus, by providing the pressure detection unit 225, the pressure applied to the top cover 206 by the collar portion 203 can be effectively monitored, and the top cover 206 can be prevented from being deformed or the like due to an excessive pressure of the collar portion 203.
As described above, in order to improve the accuracy of caulking, the battery pour hole sealing device according to the present embodiment further includes the first position detecting unit 300 for detecting the positions of the rivet body 101d of the rivet 101 and the gasket 102. With continued reference to fig. 10, in order to further improve the caulking accuracy, in some embodiments, a second position detecting portion 226 is further included, and the second position detecting portion 226 is provided to detect the position of the pour hole 207 of the battery 204. The detection element of the second position detector 226 is not particularly limited, and various visual detection elements such as a CCD may be selected. Taking a CCD as an example, for example, a camera of the CCD and a light source may be directly mounted on the first mount 214. This enables accurate detection of the position of the liquid inlet 207 and improves caulking accuracy.
By providing the first position detecting portion 300 for detecting the positions of the rivet body 101d of the rivet 101 and the seal ring 102 and the second position detecting portion 226 for detecting the position of the liquid pouring hole 207 of the battery 204, the positions of both can be simultaneously confirmed before caulking, and thus the second hand portion 213 can be assisted to accurately drive the riveter 205a to the caulking position, and the caulking accuracy can be further improved.
With continued reference to fig. 10 and 13, after the first seal 211 of the collar 203 is pressed against the top lid 206 and surrounds the pour hole 207, a vacuum evacuation step and a helium pour step may be performed. After the vacuum-pumping step and the helium-filling step are completed, the riveter 205a may perform a riveting (blind riveting) step. The riveting process performed by the riveter 205a can be performed by referring to the riveting operation of the conventional riveter 205a, and will not be described in detail here.
Further, although the example in which the collar portion 203 is integrated by the intermediate joint 218 and the riveter 205a has been described above, it is not limited thereto. For example, depending on the configuration of the tip 208 of the riveter 205a, the second sleeve 209 may be provided directly and the second sleeve 209 may be fitted directly over the tip 208 of the riveter 205 a. Correspondingly, the second seal 219 is provided directly between the second sleeve 209 and the tip 208 and the third seal 221 is provided directly on the end face of the riveter sleeve.
Still referring to fig. 9, the battery hole sealing device according to the present embodiment may further include a waste nail storage unit 400, wherein the waste nail storage unit 400 includes a second clamping unit 401, and the second clamping unit 401 clamps the long nail 101c remaining on the riveter 205 after completion of the riveting. The waste nail storage part 400 is provided on the base 112, and is provided between the relay part 128 and the first position detection part 300 of the loading device 100 in the left-right direction. The second grip part 401 may include, for example, a grip cylinder, and after the rivet gun 205 completes the caulking process, the second robot part 213 drives the rivet gun 205 to the position of the waste nail storage part 400 in the left-right direction, and the grip cylinder as the second grip part 401 grips the long nail (waste nail) 101c remaining on the rivet gun 205 and transfers the long nail 101c to, for example, a waste magazine (not shown) through, for example, a waste pipe (not shown).
After the blanking of the long nail 101c is completed, the second robot part 213 may continue to drive the riveter 205a in the right direction of the base 112, thereby continuing to take the rivet 101 at the relay part 128.
In the description herein, references to the description of the term "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an illustrative embodiment," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples" or the like mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present implementation. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.
While embodiments of the present embodiments have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the embodiments, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.