Method and system for pairing bare cells

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12580218-B2
Application number	US-202519213027-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 20, 2025
Priority date	Mar 15, 2024
Publication date	Mar 17, 2026
Grant date	Mar 17, 2026

Abstract

Bare cells are loaded onto a loading zone of each of conveying apparatuses arranged side by side, at least two carrying sections being provided in the loading zone of each conveying apparatus. The bare cells are conveyed to corresponding pairing zones by two conveying apparatuses, where a conveying direction of the conveying apparatuses is arranged to intersect with a direction in which the two conveying apparatuses are arranged side by side, tabs of the bare cells on the two conveying apparatuses are different in arrangement, and two carrying sections are provided in the pairing zone of each conveying apparatus. When the arrangement of qualified bare cells does not meet a pairing requirement for the bare cells, a corresponding qualified bare cell is picked up by a picking apparatus and moved along a preset direction between a buffer station and the carrying sections in a pairing zone of the conveying apparatus.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A method for pairing bare cells comprising:
loading bare cells onto a loading zone of each of two conveying apparatuses arranged side by side, at least two carrying sections being provided in the loading zone of each conveying apparatus; conveying the bare cells carried by corresponding carrying sections to corresponding pairing zones by the two conveying apparatuses arranged side by side, wherein a conveying direction of the conveying apparatuses is arranged to intersect with a preset direction, the preset direction is a direction in which the two conveying apparatuses are arranged side by side, tabs of the bare cells on the two conveying apparatuses are different in arrangement, and two carrying sections are provided in the pairing zone of each conveying apparatus; and pairing: when the arrangement of qualified bare cells does not meet a pairing requirement for the bare cells, picking up, by a picking apparatus, a corresponding qualified bare cell and moving the qualified bare cell along the preset direction between a buffer station that is configured to store only qualified bare cells, and the carrying sections in a pairing zone of the conveying apparatus, enabling the bare cells in the pairing zone to meet the pairing requirement for the bare cells.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein one conveying apparatus is a first conveying apparatus, and another conveying apparatus is a second conveying apparatus; and the loading bare cells onto the loading zone of each of the two conveying apparatuses arranged side by side, at least two carrying sections being provided in the loading zone of each conveying apparatus, further comprises:
spaced every two carrying sections of the first conveying apparatus, loading, by a corresponding loading mechanism, two bare cells from a loading table located at an end of the conveying apparatus facing away from the conveying direction onto corresponding two adjacent carrying sections in the loading zone of the first conveying apparatus, the two bare cells on the loading table being arranged in the conveying direction; and spaced every one carrying section of the second conveying apparatus, loading one bare cell from the loading table located at the end of the conveying apparatus facing away from the conveying direction onto a target carrying section via a side of the corresponding loading mechanism facing away from the conveying direction, the target carrying section being one of two adjacent carrying sections in the loading zone of the second conveying apparatus, with the carrying section facing away from the corresponding conveying direction.

3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the conveying the bare cells carried by corresponding carrying sections to corresponding pairing zones by the two conveying apparatuses arranged side by side comprises:
moving two adjacent bare cells to a first pairing zone by the first conveying apparatus, the first pairing zone being the pairing zone corresponding to the first conveying apparatus; and moving one bare cell to a second pairing zone by the second conveying apparatus, wherein a carrying section with the bare cell in the second pairing zone is located on a side of another carrying section facing away from the corresponding conveying direction, and the second pairing zone is a pairing zone corresponding to the second conveying apparatus.

4 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein the pairing comprises:
determining that the arrangement of qualified bare cells does not meet the pairing requirement for the bare cells when two qualified bare cells are provided in the first pairing zone and one of the qualified bare cells is a first bare cell, the first bare cell being aligned with a qualified bare cell in the second pairing zone; and moving, by the picking apparatus, the first bare cell along the preset direction to the buffer station, enabling the bare cells in the pairing zone to meet the pairing requirement for the bare cells.

5 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the pairing further comprises:
moving, by the two conveying apparatuses, two carrying sections in the pairing zone corresponding to each conveying apparatus to a downstream side of the corresponding pairing zone when the bare cells in the pairing zone meet the pairing requirement for the bare cells, so that both carrying sections in the first pairing zone are vacant and one of two carrying sections in the second pairing zone carries a bare cell; moving the buffer station in a straight line parallel to the conveying direction of the conveying apparatuses to bring the first bare cell on the buffer station to a position offset from the bare cell in the second pairing zone; moving, by the picking apparatus, the first bare cell offset from the bare cell in the second pairing zone along the preset direction from the buffer station to a vacant carrying section in the first pairing zone; and determining that the bare cells in the pairing zone meet the pairing requirement for the bare cells when the bare cell in the second pairing zone is offset from the first bare cell moved from the buffer station to the first pairing zone and the bare cell in the second pairing zone is qualified.

6 . The method according claim 3 , wherein defective bare cells are stored at a storage station; and wherein the pairing comprises:
determining that the arrangement of the qualified bare cell does not meet the pairing requirement for the bare cells when one qualified bare cell and one defective bare cell exist in the first pairing zone and the qualified bare cell is a first bare cell, the first bare cell being aligned with a qualified bare cell in the second pairing zone; moving, by the picking apparatus, the defective bare cell along the preset direction to the storage station; moving, by the picking apparatus, the first bare cell along the preset direction to the buffer station; moving the buffer station in a straight line parallel to the conveying direction of the conveying apparatuses to bring the first bare cell on the buffer station to a position offset from the qualified bare cell in the second pairing zone; and moving, by the picking apparatus, the first bare cell offset from the qualified bare cell in the second pairing zone along the preset direction from the buffer station to a carrying section in the first pairing zone, enabling the bare cells in the pairing zone to meet the pairing requirement for the bare cells.

7 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein defective bare cells are stored at a storage station; and wherein the method further comprises:
moving, by the picking apparatus, the defective bare cell in the first pairing zone along the preset direction to the storage station when a qualified bare cell in the first pairing zone is offset from a qualified bare cell in the second pairing zone and a defective bare cell exists in the first pairing zone, enabling the bare cells in the pairing zone to meet the pairing requirement for the bare cells.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the loading bare cells onto a loading zone of each of the two conveying apparatuses arranged side by side, at least two carrying sections being provided in the loading zone of each conveying apparatus, further comprises:
loading, by a loading mechanism, two bare cells from a loading table located at an end of the conveying apparatus facing away from the conveying direction onto corresponding two adjacent carrying sections in the loading zone of the corresponding conveying apparatus, so that all carrying sections upstream of the pairing zone of each conveying apparatus carry bare cells, the two bare cells on the loading table being arranged in the conveying direction.

Assignees

• Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yang Mukai
• Pan Wensheng
• Huang Dengdeng
• Huang Qinkun
• Zhang Zhiguo
• Fan Xiang

Classifications

• H01M50/204 Primary

  Racks, modules or packs for multiple batteries or multiple cells · CPC title

• G06T7/0004

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• Y02P70/50

  Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product · CPC title

• H01M10/0404 Primary

  Machines for assembling batteries · CPC title

• Y02E60/10

  Energy storage using batteries · CPC title