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EP-4742346-A1 - BATTERY CELL STACKING APPARATUS AND METHOD

EP4742346A1EP 4742346 A1EP4742346 A1EP 4742346A1EP-4742346-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a battery cell stacking apparatus and method. The battery cell stacking apparatus includes an arrangement unit configured to arrange battery cells to be stacked, a transfer unit configured to grip and transfer some of the battery cells arranged by the arrangement unit, a polarity direction change unit configured to change polarity directions of the some of the battery cells transferred from the transfer unit by rotating the some of the battery cells, an rearrangement unit configured to grip and rearrange the some of the battery cells whose polarity directions are changed by the polarity direction change unit at original positions thereof between the arranged battery cells, and a controller configured to control operations of the arrangement unit, the transfer unit, the polarity direction change unit, and the rearrangement unit.

Inventors

  • BAEK, JONGSEO

Assignees

  • SAMSUNG SDI CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20251022

Claims (15)

  1. A battery cell stacking apparatus comprising: an arrangement unit configured to arrange battery cells to be stacked; a transfer unit configured to grip and transfer some of the battery cells arranged by the arrangement unit; a polarity direction change unit configured to change polarity directions of the some of the battery cells transferred from the transfer unit by rotating the some of the battery cells; a rearrangement unit configured to grip and rearrange the some of the battery cells whose polarity directions are changed by the polarity direction change unit at original positions thereof between the arranged battery cells; and a controller configured to control operations of the arrangement unit, the transfer unit, the polarity direction change unit, and the rearrangement unit.
  2. The battery cell stacking apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the arrangement unit adjusts a spacing between the battery cells to be stacked according to a size and/or shape of each respective battery cell of the battery cells to be stacked and comprises a position sensor configured to detect positions of the arranged battery cells.
  3. The battery cell stacking apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the transfer unit and the rearrangement unit comprises a plurality of grippers and each of the transfer unit and the rearrangement unit are configured to grip a plurality of battery cells simultaneously and move the plurality of battery cells while maintaining a constant spacing between respective ones of the plurality of battery cells.
  4. The battery cell stacking apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein a contact surface of respective ones of the plurality of grippers is made of an elastic material to prevent damage to a surface of a respective battery cell of the plurality of battery cells.
  5. The battery cell stacking apparatus as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein a width and a height of a gripper of the plurality of grippers are adjustable to grip a respective battery cell of the plurality of battery cells.
  6. The battery cell stacking apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the polarity direction change unit comprises a turntable configured to rotate the some of the battery cells and a spacing adjustment part configured to adjust a spacing when the polarity directions of the some of the battery cells are changed.
  7. The battery cell stacking apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a battery cell of the battery cells is a pouch-type battery cell.
  8. The battery cell stacking apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a battery cell of the battery cells is a prismatic-type battery cell.
  9. A battery cell stacking method comprising: arranging battery cells to be stacked in a line; gripping some of the arranged battery cells and transferring the gripped some of the battery cells to a polarity direction change unit; rotating the transferred some of the battery cells to change polarity directions of the transferred some of the battery cells; and gripping the some of the battery cells whose polarity directions are changed and rearranging the some of the battery cells at original positions thereof between remaining battery cells of the arranged battery cells which are other than the some of the battery cells.
  10. The battery cell stacking method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the transferring of the gripped some of the battery cells and the rearranging of the some of the battery cells comprise automatically adjusting a gripping force of a gripper configured to grip the some of the battery cells according to a weight and/or size of respective battery cells of the some of the battery cells.
  11. The battery cell stacking method as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein the rotating of the transferred some of the battery cells comprises adjusting a spacing to prevent interference when the transferred some of the battery cells are rotated.
  12. The battery cell stacking method as claimed in claim 9, 10 or 11, wherein the rearranging of the some of the battery cells comprises, when the some of the battery cells whose polarity directions are changed are inserted at original positions thereof between the remaining battery cells of the arranged battery cells, adjusting directions of and spacings between the arranged battery cells to complete an arrangement of the battery cells in a line.
  13. A battery cell stacking apparatus comprising: an arrangement unit configured to arrange a plurality of battery cells in a line to have a same polarity direction; a transfer unit configured to grip the plurality of battery cells arranged by the arrangement unit and move the plurality of battery cells battery cells gripped by the transfer unit to a polarity direction change unit, grip the plurality of battery cells whose polarity directions are changed by the polarity direction change unit, and rearrange the plurality of battery cells gripped by the transfer unit at original positions thereof between arranged battery cells; and the polarity direction change unit, wherein the polarity direction change unit is configured to change polarity directions of the plurality of battery cells moved to the polarity direction change unit by the transfer unit by rotating the plurality of battery cells, wherein the transfer unit is coupled to the polarity direction change unit, and a rotation of the plurality of battery cells is implemented through a rotational movement of the transfer unit.
  14. The battery cell stacking apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the transfer unit comprises a plurality of grippers configured to grip the plurality of battery cells simultaneously and move the plurality of battery cells while maintaining a constant spacing between respective ones of the plurality of battery cells.
  15. The battery cell stacking apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein a contact surface of a gripper of the plurality of grippers is made of an elastic material to stably grip a battery cell of the plurality of battery cells when the plurality of battery cells are rotated by the polarity direction change unit.

Description

FIELD The present disclosure relates to a battery cell stacking apparatus and method for stacking battery cells by simultaneously changing polarity directions of the battery cells. BACKGROUND Different from primary batteries that are not designed to be recharged, secondary batteries are designed to be discharged and recharged. Low-capacity secondary batteries are used in portable small electronic devices such as smartphones, feature phones, laptop computers, digital cameras, and camcorders, whereas large-capacity secondary batteries are widely used as power sources for driving motors in hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, and the like as well as for power storage batteries. Such a secondary battery includes an electrode assembly formed of a positive electrode and a negative electrode, a case for accommodating the electrode assembly, and electrode terminals connected to the electrode assembly. The herein information disclosed in this Background section is for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore, it may contain information that does not constitute a related (or prior) art. SUMMARY The present disclosure is directed to providing a battery cell stacking apparatus and method that can reduce a work time by simultaneously gripping a plurality of battery cells, changing their polarity directions, and stacking the plurality of battery cells. According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a battery cell stacking apparatus including an arrangement unit configured to arrange battery cells to be stacked, a transfer unit configured to grip and transfer some of the battery cells arranged by the arrangement unit, a polarity direction change unit configured to change polarity directions of the some of the battery cells transferred from the transfer unit by rotating the some of the battery cells, a rearrangement unit configured to grip and rearrange the some of the battery cells whose polarity directions are changed by the polarity direction change unit at original positions thereof between the arranged battery cells, and a controller configured to control operations of the arrangement unit, the transfer unit, the polarity direction change unit, and the rearrangement unit. In some embodiments, the arrangement unit adjusts a spacing between the battery cells to be stacked according to a size and/or shape of each respective battery cell of the battery cells to be stacked and comprises a position sensor configured to detect positions of the arranged battery cells. In some embodiments, each of the transfer unit and the rearrangement unit comprises a plurality of grippers and each of the transfer unit and the rearrangement unit are configured to grip a plurality of battery cells simultaneously and move the plurality of battery cells while maintaining a constant spacing between respective ones of the plurality of battery cells. In some embodiments, a contact surface of respective ones of the plurality of grippers is made of an elastic material to prevent damage to a surface of a respective battery cell of the plurality of battery cells. In some embodiments, a width and a height of a gripper of the plurality of grippers are adjustable to grip a respective battery cell of the plurality of battery cells. In some embodiments, the polarity direction change unit comprises a turntable configured to rotate the some of the battery cells and a spacing adjustment part configured to adjust a spacing when the polarity directions of the some of the battery cells are changed. In some embodiments, a battery cell of the battery cells is a pouch-type battery cell. In some embodiments, a battery cell of the battery cells is a prismatic-type battery cell. According to another embodiment, there is provided a battery cell stacking method comprising: arranging battery cells to be stacked in a line; gripping some of the arranged battery cells and transferring the gripped some of the battery cells to a polarity direction change unit; rotating the transferred some of the battery cells to change polarity directions of the transferred some of the battery cells; and gripping the some of the battery cells whose polarity directions are changed and rearranging the some of the battery cells at original positions thereof between remaining battery cells of the arranged battery cells which are other than the some of the battery cells. In some embodiments, the transferring of the gripped some of the battery cells and the rearranging of the some of the battery cells comprise automatically adjusting a gripping force of a gripper configured to grip the some of the battery cells according to a weight and/or size of respective battery cells of the some of the battery cells. In some embodiments, the rotating of the transferred some of the battery cells comprises adjusting a spacing to prevent interference when the transferred some of the battery cells are rotated. In some embodiments, the rearranging