JP7470529B2 - Battery manufacturing transport jig - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a transport jig for battery manufacturing.

A conventional battery manufacturing transport jig is known that holds a bottomed rectangular cylindrical battery case that constitutes a battery during battery manufacturing. The transport jig temporarily fixes the battery case in an upright position in a recessed holding portion provided in a housing.
The battery case is then transported through a transport path, and components that will become battery elements are assembled therein, or an electrolyte or the like is injected into the battery case (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
After the injection, a lid having a metal electrode protruding therefrom is placed over the battery case, and the battery case is sealed by welding or the like.

JP 2001-57197 A

In the above-mentioned conventional battery manufacturing transport jig, a pressing mechanism is provided to hold the battery case in order to improve the positioning accuracy of the battery case that is temporarily fixed during assembly or sealing. The pressing direction of the pressing mechanism is preferably from the front and rear or the left and right directions, for example.
However, in a pressing mechanism that applies pressure from multiple directions, the mechanism for transmitting the pressure becomes complicated. Also, while it is possible to use multiple actuators, this increases the number of parts and makes it difficult to synchronize the clamping timing.

Furthermore, in order to compensate for the decrease in positional accuracy caused by dimensional variations in the battery case, if a spring with a large repulsive force is used to exert the desired gripping force, the strength of the housing of the transport jig must be improved.
This increases the size of the transport jig, which in turn increases the space required within the transport path, potentially reducing workability, and further improvements are required.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a transport jig for battery production that has a simple configuration and can improve positioning accuracy.

The transport jig for battery manufacturing of the present invention is characterized by comprising a housing having a concave holding portion that holds a bottomed cylindrical battery case, a first clamping mechanism that clamps the side of the battery case from an opposing direction, a second clamping mechanism that clamps the side of the battery case from a direction perpendicular to the clamping direction of the first clamping mechanism, a single operating body that is at least partially positioned within the holding portion and slides, and a conversion mechanism that converts the sliding direction movement of the operating body into the clamping direction movement of each of the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism.

The present invention provides a battery manufacturing transport jig that can temporarily fix a battery case with a simple configuration and improve positioning accuracy.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view illustrating an overall configuration of a transport jig for battery production according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the battery manufacturing transport jig of the embodiment taken along line II-II in FIG. 1. 11 is a schematic front view illustrating a state in which a first clamping mechanism is in an unclamped state due to sliding movement of an operating body in a transport jig for battery production according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. A schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view at a position corresponding to the position along line II-II in Figure 1, illustrating the state in which the second clamping mechanism is in an unclamped state due to the sliding movement of the operating body in the battery manufacturing transport jig of the embodiment.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings as appropriate. Identical components are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted.

[Embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a transport jig 1 for a battery assembly 2 according to a basic embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the direction along the longitudinal direction of the battery case 3a is the same as the first clamping direction W in which the first side faces 3f, 3f on the short sides are clamped in the opposing direction. For this reason, the longitudinal direction of the battery assembly 2 shown in the left and right directions in FIG. 1 will be described as the first clamping direction W of the first clamp mechanism 10.
2, the direction along the short side of the battery case 3a is the same as a second clamping direction D in which second side faces 3g, 3g on the long side of the battery case 3a are clamped in an opposing direction. For this reason, the short side direction of the battery assembly 2 shown as the front and rear directions in FIG. 2 will be described as the second clamping direction D of the second clamping mechanism 20. Therefore, the first clamping direction W and the second clamping direction D are configured to be perpendicular to each other.

The battery assembly 2 of this embodiment includes a battery case 3a, a metal lid 3d with protruding electrode terminals 3b and 3c, and battery element components housed inside the battery case 3a. The battery case 3a is a horizontally elongated rectangular cylinder with a bottom, with its longitudinal direction aligned with the first clamping direction W.

The upper surface of the battery case 3a is formed in a generally rectangular shape, and a battery opening is formed. When the battery is manufactured, the battery element parts are assembled through the battery opening, and the battery opening is covered with a lid 3d, and the periphery is welded by laser welding or the like to seal it. A pair of electrode terminals 3b, 3c are provided on the lid 3d so as to protrude upward.

Furthermore, the transport jig 1 for the battery assembly 2 of this embodiment has a jig opening formed in the upper surface portion of the box-shaped housing 6. The jig opening is formed in a generally rectangular shape when viewed from above so that the battery case 3a can be inserted from above and the lower portion can be temporarily fixed when the battery assembly 2 is manufactured.
A concave holding portion 5 that connects the internal space to the external space through the jig opening is formed inside the housing 6. The holding portion 5 holds the lower portion of the battery case 3a inserted through the jig opening and holds it in an upright state with the upper battery opening facing upward.

[First clamp mechanism]
As shown in FIG. 1 , the holding portion 5 is provided with a first clamping mechanism 10 which is operated for clamping and unclamping by an operating body 30 , and a second clamping mechanism 20 which operates in conjunction with the first clamping mechanism 10 .
Of these, the first clamp mechanism 10 is provided with left and right clamp members 11, 12 as first clamp members. The left and right clamp members 11, 12 clamp the vertical middle positions of the first side faces 3f, 3f of the outer surface of the battery case 3a from the left and right directions along a first clamping direction W.
The left and right clamp members 11, 12 have left and right slide bases 13, 14 respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the operating body 30, and contact surfaces 15, 16.
The left and right slide bases 13, 14 are each formed to have a rectangular parallelepiped shape with the longitudinal direction aligned in the up-down direction within the holding part 5. Abutment surfaces 15, 16 that are generally L-shaped in side view protrude from the upper ends of the left and right slide bases 13, 14 so as to face each other in the first clamping direction W.

In addition, each of the left and right clamp members 11, 12 is provided with a pair of linear shafts 18, 18 and connecting members 19, 19. Of these, the linear shafts 18, 18 are arranged side by side with their axial directions aligned from the inner opposing surfaces of the left and right slide bases 13, 14 in the first clamp direction W.

The linear motion shafts 18, 18 in this embodiment are arranged in parallel to each other at a predetermined interval in the sliding direction V of the operating body 30.
Guide portions 17, 17 for slidably guiding the linear motion shafts 18 are provided on the inner surface of the holding portion 5 of the housing 6. The guide portions 17 are aligned in the first clamping direction W, and have insertion holes formed at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction.
Linear motion shafts 18, 18 are inserted into these insertion holes to slide and guide the left and right clamp members 11, 12 toward and away from each other in the first clamp direction W without tilting.

Further, rod-shaped connecting members 19, 19 are connected between both tip ends 18a, 18a of the linear motion shafts 18, 18. Further, spring members 50, 50 are provided between the connecting members 19, 19 and the inner surface of the housing 6 on the holding portion 5 side.
In this embodiment, one end of the spring member 50 abuts against a receiving member 51 fixed to the housing 6. The other end of the spring member 50 abuts against the side surfaces 19a, 19a of the connecting members 19, 19.

The left and right clamp members 11, 12 of the first clamp mechanism 10 are biased by spring members 50, 50 in directions in which they approach each other.
Therefore, when no operating force is applied to the first clamp mechanism 10, the spring force of the spring members 50, 50 causes the abutment surfaces 15, 16 of the left and right clamp members 11, 12 to press against the first side surfaces 3f, 3f of the battery case 3a from both sides, thereby creating a clamped state.

When an operating force is applied to the first clamp mechanism 10 to open the left and right clamp members 11, 12 along the first clamping direction W, the left and right clamp members 11, 12 move away from each other against the biasing force of the spring members 50, 50. Then, the contact surfaces 15, 16 move away from the first side surfaces 3f, 3f of the battery case 3a, and the battery case 3a enters an unclamped state.

In the first clamp mechanism 10 of this embodiment, the insertion holes of the guide portions 17, 17 are formed in parallel. Therefore, the linear motion shafts 18, 18 are smoothly slidably guided within the guide portions 17, 17, and the left and right clamp members 11, 12 do not tilt. Therefore, the left and right clamp members 11, 12 can be clamped or unclamped along the first clamping direction W to bring the abutment surfaces 15, 16 into abutment at desired positions on the first side surfaces 3f, 3f of the battery case 3a.
In addition, the left and right clamp members 11, 12 do not tilt during clamping or unclamping operations, which reduces the risk of unnecessary wear on the sliding parts, suppresses the generation of metal powder and resin powder, and improves durability.

[Second clamp mechanism]
The transport jig 1 of this embodiment is also provided with a second clamping mechanism 20 that is operated simultaneously by an operating body 30 that operates the first clamping mechanism 10. The second clamping mechanism 20 can be in a clamping state in which it clamps the second side surfaces 3g, 3g of the battery case 3a in a second clamping direction D (see FIG. 2 ) that is perpendicular to the first clamping direction W, or in an unclamping state in which it opens the second side surfaces 3g, 3g.
The second clamp mechanism 20 has a second clamp member 21 that moves toward and away from the housing 6 in the second clamping direction D, and a base member 22 that is fixed to the housing 6. The second clamp member 21 and the base member 22 are respectively provided on the front and rear sides of the battery case 3a held by the holding portion 5 in the second clamping direction D.

Of these, the second clamping member 21 has a front-to-rear sliding base 23, at least a portion of which is positioned within the holding portion 5 and slides in the second clamping direction D, and a contact surface portion 24 protruding from the upper end of the front-to-rear sliding base 23 toward the base member 22, and is formed in an approximately C-shape when viewed from the side.
The base member 22 also has a contact surface 25 that protrudes from the inside of the upper end portion thereof to clamp the battery case 3a. The contact surfaces 24, 25 are configured to come into contact with the second side surfaces 3g, 3g, respectively, from both the front and rear sides of the battery case 3a along the second clamping direction D to clamp or unclamp the battery case 3a.

Furthermore, a pair of upper and lower spring members 60, 60 are provided between the front-rear slide base 23 and the inner side surface of the housing 6. One end of the spring member 60 abuts against a receiving member 61 provided on the inner side surface of the housing 6, and the other end abuts against a position on the side surface of the front-rear slide base 23 in the up-down direction that corresponds to the second rolling roller member 34.
As a result, the spring member 60 biases the front-rear slide base 23 toward the base member 22 along the second clamping direction D. Therefore, when no operating force is applied to the second clamping mechanism 20, the front-rear slide base 23 is pressed along the second clamping direction D by the biasing force of the spring member 60, and the abutment surfaces 24, 25 clamp the second side surfaces 3g, 3g from both the front and rear sides of the battery case 3a.

[Conversion mechanism]
Furthermore, the transport jig 1 of this embodiment is provided with a conversion mechanism 40 that links the operating body 30 with the first clamping mechanism 10 and the second clamping mechanism 20. The conversion mechanism 40 converts the movement in the sliding direction V into the movement in the first clamping direction W of the first clamping mechanism 10 and the movement in the second clamping direction D of the second clamping mechanism 20.
Of these, the operating body 30 has at least one end 31a disposed within the holding portion 5 and the other lower end 31b protruding downwardly from the housing 6. The operating body 30 is configured to slide along a sliding direction V in the up and down directions.
The conversion mechanism 40 converts the movement of the operating body 30 in the sliding direction V into movement of the left and right clamp members 11, 12 in the first and second clamp directions W1, W2 (see Figure 3), and movement of the second clamp member 21 in the second clamp direction D (see Figure 4).

That is, the conversion mechanism 40 of this embodiment is configured as a cam roller mechanism, and has first rolling roller members 32, 32 that are rotatably supported on the connecting members 19, 19 of the first clamp mechanism 10, as shown in Figure 1.
The conversion mechanism 40 also has first inclined surface portions 33, 33 that come into contact with and press against these first rolling roller members 32, 32.
The first inclined surface portions 33, 33 are inclined so as to move away from each other in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction V of the operating body 30, and are formed symmetrically on the left and right first side surfaces 30a, 30b on the left and right slide bases 13, 14 sides of the first clamp mechanism 10, respectively.
Each of the first inclined surface portions 33 is formed to be inclined in a direction in which it widens as the operating body 30 moves upward along the sliding direction V. The first inclined surface portions 33, 33 abut against the first rolling roller members 32, 32 in a rollable manner.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the conversion mechanism 40 has a second rolling roller member 34 provided on the second clamp member 21 of the second clamp mechanism 20, and a second inclined surface portion 35 formed on the second side surface 30 c of the operating body 30 facing the second clamp mechanism 20.
The second inclined surface portion 35 is formed to be inclined so as to move away from the second clamp member 21 in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction V of the operating body 30. In addition, the second rolling roller member 34 is journaled on the lower end portion of the second clamp member 21 within the holding portion 5.
The second inclined surface portion 35 is in rollable contact with the second rolling roller member 34 .

The operating body 30 of this embodiment is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the first side surfaces 30a, 30b are located on opposite sides and symmetrically with respect to the central axis in the sliding direction V. In addition, the first side surfaces 30a, 30b and the second side surface 30c are provided so as to be perpendicular to the out-of-plane direction.
Furthermore, the first inclined surface portions 33, 33 are formed at the same vertical position in the longitudinal direction (sliding direction V) of the operating body 30. Moreover, the second inclined surface portion 35 is formed at a lower position than the first inclined surface portions 33, 33 in the longitudinal direction of the operating body 30.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, when the first inclined surface portions 33, 33 abut the first rolling roller members 32, 32 to start opening the first clamping mechanism 10 in the first clamping direction W, the positions of the first inclined surface portions 33, 33 and the second inclined surface portion 35 in the sliding direction V are set so that the timing of each cam roller mechanism is such that, as shown in FIG. 4, the second inclined surface portion 35 abuts the second rolling roller member 34 to start opening the second clamping member 21 in the second clamping direction D.

Next, the effects of the transport jig 1 for the battery assembly 2 according to the embodiment will be described.
In the transportation jig 1 of the embodiment, the battery case 3a can be temporarily fixed with a simple configuration, thereby improving the positioning accuracy with respect to the transportation jig 1.
In detail, when the operating body 30 is moved upward along the sliding direction V from the clamped state as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the left and right clamp members 11, 12 of the first clamp mechanism 10 spread open against the biasing force of the spring members 50, 60, and the second clamp member 21 of the second clamp mechanism 20 opens backward along the second clamping direction D.
Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the transport jig 1 is in an unclamped state.
In addition, when the operating body 30 is moved downward along the sliding direction V, the left and right clamp members 11, 12 of the first clamp mechanism 10 close due to the biasing force of the spring members 50, 60, and the second clamp member 21 of the second clamp mechanism 20 moves forward along the second clamping direction D to clamp the battery case 3a from the first side faces 3f, 3f and the second side faces 3g, 3g, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

In this way, the conversion mechanism 40 converts the movement of the operating body 30 in the sliding direction V into a movement in the first clamping direction W that spreads open the left and right clamp members 11, 12 of the first clamping mechanism 10. At the same time, the conversion mechanism 40 converts the movement of the operating body 30 in the sliding direction V into a movement that opens the second clamp member 21 of the second clamping mechanism 20 backward along the second clamping direction D.
Therefore, the unclamped state can be achieved simply by moving the other end 31b of the operating body 30 upward along the sliding direction V, and the battery case 3a in the holding portion 5 can be inserted or removed from above through the jig opening of the transport jig 1.

3 and 4, with the battery case 3a inserted into the holding portion 5, the operating body 30 is moved downward along the sliding direction V as shown in FIGS.
The left and right clamp members 11, 12 of the first clamp mechanism 10 are biased by spring members 50, 50.
Therefore, as the operating body 30 is retracted downward, the left and right clamp members 11, 12 move in the approaching direction along the first clamping direction W. Then, the contact surfaces 15, 16 contact and clamp the first side surfaces 3f, 3f of the battery case 3a from both sides.
At this time, in this embodiment, the contact surfaces 15, 16 are pressed against the first side surfaces 3f, 3f of the battery case 3a by the spring members 50, 50. Therefore, the battery case 3a is reliably positioned and fixed in the first clamping direction W.

Furthermore, in the first clamping mechanism 10 of this embodiment, a pair of guide portions 17, 17 are provided on the inner side surface of the holding portion 5 of the housing 6. The guide portions 17 are aligned in the first clamping direction W, and have insertion holes formed therein so as to be parallel to each other and spaced a predetermined distance apart in the vertical direction.
Within this pair of guide portions 17, 17, linear motion shafts 18, 18 arranged side by side along their axial directions in the first clamping direction W from the opposing surfaces of the left and right slide bases 13, 14 are slidably guided.

Further, both end portions 18a, 18a of these linear motion shafts 18, 18 are connected by a connecting member 19. A first rolling roller member 32, which serves as a pressing point of the conversion mechanism 40, is supported by the connecting member 19.
Therefore, the acting force used for unclamping, which is transmitted from the operating body 30 to the rolling roller member 32 via the first inclined surface portion 33, is applied in a balanced manner between the pair of linear motion shafts 18, 18, and the clamping and unclamping operations can be performed while maintaining the parallelism of the left and right slide bases 13, 14.

In this embodiment, the first rolling roller members 32, 32 are in rolling contact with the first inclined surface portions 33, 33. Also, the second rolling roller member 34 is in rolling contact with the second inclined surface portion 35. Therefore, there are no sliding contact portions when performing clamping and unclamping operations. Therefore, smooth operation is possible by the first and second rolling roller members 32, 34, which have a rotational resistance that is relatively smaller than the sliding resistance.
Furthermore, the left and right slide bases 13, 14 are kept parallel to each other. This further improves the positional accuracy of the battery case 3a in the clamped state. Therefore, the transport jig 1 of this embodiment improves the work accuracy when transporting the battery case 3a along the transport path and assembling the battery element components.

In addition, when the operating body 30 is moved downward along the sliding direction V as shown in Figure 2, the second clamp member 21 of the second clamp mechanism 20 moves forward along the second clamping direction D and abuts against the second side surface 3g of the battery case 3a.
Therefore, the battery case 3 a can be inserted into the holding portion 5 from above or removed from the holding portion 5 through the jig opening of the transport jig 1 .
The contact surface portion 24 abutting against the second side surface 3g of the battery case 3a by the spring member 60 biases the battery case 3a against the contact surface portion 25 of the base member 22. Therefore, the battery case 3a is reliably positioned and fixed in the second clamping direction D as well.

In this way, in the transport jig 1 of this embodiment, the battery case 3a is clamped from two perpendicular directions by the first clamp mechanism 10 and the second clamp mechanism 20 when the operating body 30 moves downward. Also, when the operating body 30 is moved upward, the first clamp mechanism 10 and the second clamp mechanism 20 are simultaneously released, allowing the battery case 3a to be inserted or removed. Therefore, operability is excellent.

In addition, the first and second side surfaces 3f, 3g of the battery case 3a are clamped from four directions by the first clamp mechanism 10 and the second clamp mechanism 20. Therefore, the battery case 3a can be temporarily fixed in a sufficiently stable manner without using a spring member with a large repulsive force.
Moreover, the base member 22 of the second clamp mechanism 20 is fixed to the housing 6. Therefore, a reference position for positioning can be easily set, and a transport jig 1 for a battery assembly 2 is provided that can improve positioning accuracy.

Furthermore, the first side surface 30a or 30b on which the first inclined surface portion 33 shown in Figure 1 is provided and the second side surface 30c on which the second inclined surface portion 35 shown in Figure 2 is provided are provided perpendicular to each other on the rectangular parallelepiped-shaped operating body 30.
Therefore, even if the first rolling roller members 32, 32 and the second rolling roller member 34 are arranged at different positions above and below in the sliding direction V due to installation space constraints, the timing at which each of the first inclined surface portions 33 and the second inclined surface portions 35 abut can be aligned, allowing clamping and unclamping to be performed simultaneously.
Therefore, in this respect as well, there is no need to provide a separate actuator or transmission mechanism, so that the battery case 3a can be temporarily fixed with a simple configuration, thereby improving the positioning accuracy.

In addition, the configuration inside the housing 6 can be simplified. Therefore, the outer dimensions of the housing 6 do not increase, and the transport jig 1 can be made smaller, so that the space required in the transport path does not increase.
That is, the conversion mechanism 40 can simultaneously operate the first clamping mechanism 10 and the second clamping mechanism 20, which clamp from different directions, by moving a single operating body 30 in the sliding direction V.
Moreover, the battery case 3a can be clamped or unclamped from a plurality of directions by moving the other end 31b of the operating body 30 protruding from the bottom side of the housing 6 along the sliding direction V. This allows operation using an actuator or the like provided outside the housing 6, resulting in good space efficiency and operability.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the configurations described in the above embodiments. The present invention can be modified in its configuration as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention, including appropriate combinations or selections of the configurations described in the above embodiments. In addition, it is possible to add or delete parts of the configurations of the above embodiments, or to add or replace other configurations. Possible modifications to the above embodiments are, for example, as follows:

In the transport jig 1 for the battery assembly 2 of this embodiment, a linear cam roller mechanism has been shown and described as being used as the conversion mechanism, but this is not particularly limited. For example, instead of the first rolling roller member, a slope may be slid against the first sloped surface portion 33, and any combination of transmission elements may be used as long as the conversion mechanism converts the movement of the operating body in the sliding direction into the movement of the first clamp mechanism 10 and the second clamp mechanism 20 in the first and second clamp directions W and D. In other words, the shape, quantity, and material of the conversion mechanism are not particularly limited.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Transport jig 2 Battery assembly 3a Battery case 6 Housing 10 First clamp mechanism 11 Left clamp member (first clamp member)
12 Right clamp member (first clamp member)
20 Second clamp mechanism 22 Base member (second clamp member)
23 Movable clamp member (second clamp member)
30 Operation body 40 Conversion mechanism

Claims (5)

A housing having a recessed holding portion for holding a bottomed cylindrical battery case;
a first clamp mechanism that clamps a side surface of the battery case from an opposing direction;
a second clamp mechanism that clamps a side surface of the battery case from a direction perpendicular to a clamping direction of the first clamp mechanism;
A single operating body that is at least partially disposed within the holding portion and slides;
a conversion mechanism that converts the sliding direction movement of the operating body into the clamping direction movements of the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism, respectively. The conversion mechanism includes a first rolling roller member provided in the first clamp mechanism;
a second rolling roller member provided in the second clamp mechanism;
a first inclined surface portion provided on a side surface of the operation body facing the first clamp mechanism, inclined in a direction perpendicular to a sliding direction of the operation body, and in contact with the first rolling roller member;
The transport jig for battery manufacturing as described in claim 1, characterized in that it is a linear cam roller mechanism having a second inclined surface portion that is provided on the side of the operating body facing the second clamp mechanism, inclined in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction of the operating body, and abuts against the second rolling roller member. the first clamp mechanism includes a pair of left and right clamp members provided on both sides of the operation body in a clamping direction,
The left and right clamp members each have a pair of linear motion shafts arranged in parallel in the sliding direction of the operation body,
a connecting member that connects the pair of linear motion shafts and supports the first rolling roller member,
3. A transport jig for battery production according to claim 2, further comprising a guide portion for guiding the linear motion shaft to move the left and right clamping members in the clamping direction. The battery manufacturing transport jig according to claim 3, characterized in that the connecting member is provided with a spring member that biases the left and right clamp members in the clamping direction against the side surface of the battery case. The battery manufacturing transport jig according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the operating body is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the first side on which the first inclined surface portion is provided is perpendicular to the second side on which the second inclined surface portion is provided.

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