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KR-20260065942-A - Disassembly of laser auxiliary battery unit

KR20260065942AKR 20260065942 AKR20260065942 AKR 20260065942AKR-20260065942-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laser processing method for use in a disassembly process of a battery device (10), wherein the battery device (10) comprises a cell device (12) and a battery housing (14) surrounding the cell device (12), and the method comprises the step of: inducing a processing beam comprising at least one laser beam (L) along a processing contour (C) on a surface of the battery housing (14) directed away from the cell device (12) such that the battery housing (12) is structurally weakened along at least one selected portion of a processing contour (L). The present invention also relates to a method for opening the battery housing (14) and a device for performing the laser processing method.

Inventors

  • 레텐마이어 막스
  • 뮐러쉔 올리버
  • 복스록커 올리버
  • 몰러 모리츠

Assignees

  • 트룸프 레이저-운트 시스템테크닉 에스에

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20241016
Priority Date
20231019

Claims (8)

  1. A laser processing method for use in the disassembly process of a battery device (10), wherein the battery device (10) comprises a cell device (12) and a battery housing (14) surrounding the cell device (12), and the method comprises: A laser processing method comprising the step of inducing a processing beam including at least one laser beam (L) along a processing contour (C) on a surface of a battery housing (14) facing away from a cell device (12) so that the battery housing (12) is structurally weakened along at least one selected portion of the processing contour (L).
  2. In paragraph 1, The above laser processing method is a laser cutting method, wherein the laser beam (L) is guided together with a cutting gas jet (G) along a processing contour (C) on the surface of the battery housing (14) in a direction away from the cell device (12); The above laser cutting method is a laser processing method in which the cutting gap created along the processing contour (C) is set to extend over only a portion of the thickness (d) of the battery housing (14).
  3. In paragraph 2, A laser processing method in which a cutting gas (G) is supplied at an angle of less than 90° to a weld pool created by a laser beam (L) during the cutting process.
  4. In paragraph 1, The above laser processing method is a laser cutting method; The above laser cutting method is set so that the cutting gap created along the processing contour (C) extends over only a portion of the thickness (d) of the battery housing (14); A laser processing method in which a molten material (S) generated by a laser beam (L) during laser cutting is at least partially deposited on the upper surface of a battery housing (14) on the side of the cutting gap through the formation of a weld pool and can be solidified therefrom.
  5. In paragraph 1, The above laser processing method is a laser sublimation process, wherein the material of the battery housing (14) is at least partially vaporized through a laser beam (L) along the processing contour (C); The above laser sublimation process is a laser processing method in which the cutting gap created along the processing contour (C) is set to extend over only a portion of the thickness (d) of the battery housing (14).
  6. In paragraph 1, A laser processing method in which the material of the battery housing (14) is heated along a processing contour (C) by a laser beam (L), thereby causing the material to undergo structural changes over at least a portion of its thickness (d), which causes structural weakening of the housing wall within the irradiated area.
  7. A method for opening a battery housing (14) including a cell device (12) of a battery device (10), wherein the method comprises: A step of weakening the structure of a battery housing (14) in a targeted manner along a predetermined processing contour (C) using a laser processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 6; A method for opening a battery housing, comprising the step of mechanically separating the open portion of the battery housing (14) along a processing contour (C) from the rest of the battery housing (14) surrounding it.
  8. A laser processing device for processing the housing (14) of a battery device (10), wherein the device comprises at least: A workpiece support for supporting the battery assembly (10) during the laser cutting process; A laser beam source for providing a laser beam (L); A laser processing head (20) for focusing a laser beam (L) into a battery housing (14); A laser processing device comprising a control unit designed to control the device to perform a laser processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

Description

Disassembly of laser auxiliary battery unit The present invention relates to the field of batteries, for example, batteries used to operate electric motors of electric vehicles. In particular, the present invention relates to a technique for opening a battery housing using laser cutting. The structure of the battery device, also referred to as a battery pack, is described below in a simplified manner based on FIG. 1a. FIG. 1a illustrates a battery device (10), in which a cell device (12) having a plurality of cell modules (122) is arranged as a core component, and said cell modules ultimately include one or more electrically interconnected battery cells (not shown in FIG. 1a). The battery device (10) includes additional functional components such as a controller (also referred to as a BMS or battery management system), an electrical consumption interface, a cooling element, etc., but these components have been omitted for the sake of simplification of the drawing. The interior of the battery device (10) is shielded from the outside by a battery housing (14), in which case said housing is composed of two housing shells (142, 144) that are rigidly connected to each other along a side circumferential flange (146) (=connection area) (e.g., via screw, rivet, and/or adhesive and/or welded connection). In order for the components of the battery device (10) to be reused in a resource-saving manner after the end of their life cycle, the battery device (10) must be at least partially disassembled or dismantled. One of the first steps of disassembling or dismantling the battery device (10) is to remove or at least open the housing (14) to access the core components of the battery device (10), specifically the battery cells contained in the cell device (12), i.e., the active material of the battery device (10). Until now, the disassembly of the housing shells (142, 144) of the housing (14) has generally been performed manually. This manual process, which typically requires disassembling screw flanges and/or adhesive joints (and/or other connections such as rivet connections, welded connections, etc.) between the housing shells (142, 144), is very complex and requires the battery cells inside the battery device (10) to be completely discharged to eliminate the risk of uncontrolled discharge (e.g., electric shock, short circuit, etc.) or thermal runaway of the battery cells during disassembly. Those skilled in the art refer to such discharge as deep discharge. Using (partially) automated screw driving techniques or machining processes to disassemble or separate the joints between the housing shells (142, 144), which are typically made of aluminum-based or iron-based materials, increases the disassembly efficiency of the battery device by only a small amount. The object of the present invention is to further improve the prior art related to the disassembly of a battery device. In particular, the housing of the battery device should be able to be opened in a flexible and efficient manner as part of an automated process, regardless of the condition of the housing shell and the type of connection, without damaging the battery cells. Additionally, contamination of the interior of the battery device should be avoided as much as possible. The basic object of the present invention is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claim. Additional possible embodiments of the present invention are specified in the dependent claims, description, and drawings. The features, advantages, and possible embodiments presented in the description of one subject of the independent claim must be considered at least in a mutual manner (mutatis mutandis) in the features, advantages, and possible embodiments of the corresponding subject of another independent claim, as well as, where possible, in combination with one or more dependent claims, in the features, advantages, and possible embodiments of possible combinations of the subject of the independent claim. According to the present invention, a laser processing method for use during the disassembly of a battery device is provided. The battery device comprises a cell device and a battery housing that encloses the cell device. For example, the housing may be constructed of at least two housing shells, and these shells are rigidly connected to each other along the outer periphery of the housing (e.g., through screws, rivets, adhesive, and/or welded connections). In the case of a simple battery device design, the housing shell may also be referred to as a half shell. The battery device may have, for example, a cell-to-pack battery pack structure. This means that individual battery cells are installed (e.g., foamed) directly inside the battery pack (i.e., battery device). Alternatively, the battery device may also have a cell-to-module or module-to-pack structure in which a plurality of battery cells are packaged within a single cell module. If the battery device comprises a plurality of cell