A PUNCH AND A DIE FOR STRETCHING BATTERY CASE BODY AND STRETCHING PROCESS THEREFOR

Abstract

A punch and a die for stretching battery case body and its stretching process. The die includes a stepped punch as a male die, at least one thinning ring as a female die, and a variable-wall-thickness stretching step, which belongs to the thinning stretching. When the sheet or plate is stretched to the cup-shaped stretching piece by at least one-time forming stretching, and then through the thinning stretching to finally obtain the variable-wall-thickness battery case body with thin wall in the middle and thick wall at one end or both ends in the axial direction. The body can reduce the material consumption of the middle section of the case body and ensure the roll-sealing strength of one end or both ends, thus solving the problem between the amount of materials and the reliability of the roll sealing caused by the wall thickness of the battery case body.

Claims

1. A punch for stretching the battery case body, wherein: the punch is a stepped punch, its main body is a cylinder, the stepped punch is provided with a thick rod section, and the thick rod section is provided with a thin rod section on at least one end in the axial direction, and the difference between the radius of the thick rod section and the radius of the thin rod section is less than or equal to 0.3 mm and the radius ratio of the two is less than or equal to 101:100; and the thin rod section and the thick rod section are transitioned by means of at least one tapered surface or/and curved surface, and the ratio of the difference between the radius difference between the thick rod section and thin rod section to the projected length of the tapered surface or/and curved surface in the axial direction is less than 0.2.

2. A die for stretching the battery case body, and the die is composed of a male die and a female die, wherein: the male die is composed of a stepped punch, and the main body of the stepped punch is a cylinder, the stepped punch is provided with a thick rod section, and the thick rod section is provided with a thin rod section on at least one end in the axial direction, and the difference between the radius of the thick rod section and the radius of the thin rod section is less than or equal to 0.3 mm and the radius ratio of the two is less than or equal to 101:100; and the thin rod section and the thick rod section are transitioned by means of at least one tapered surface or/and curved surface, and the ratio of the difference between the radius difference between the thick rod section and thin rod section to the projected length of the tapered surface or/and curved surface in the axial direction is less than 0.2; the female die is composed of at least one thinning ring, and the thinning ring is arranged coaxially with the stepped punch; and the difference between the inner diameter of the thinning ring and the diameter of the thick rod section of the stepped punch is less than twice the wall thickness of the case body to be thinned.

3. The die according to the claim 2, wherein: the female die is composed of at least two thinning rings, and the at least two thinning rings are arranged coaxially with the stepped punch, and the inner diameters of the at least two thinning rings decreases successively along the punching direction.

4. The die according to the claim 2, wherein: the ratio of the wall thickness of the thinned piece after being thinned by the thinning ring corresponding to the thick rod section to the diameter of the thick rod section is 1:30.

5. A stretching process of battery case body includes thinning stretching, the number of thinning and stretching is at least one, wherein: the thinning stretching includes at least one variable-wall-thickness stretching for the thin wall section and thick wall section of the case body, and the variable-wall-thickness stretching is completed by using the following die with the punching equipment: the die is composed of a male die and a female die, and the male die is composed of a stepped punch, and the main body of the stepped punch is a cylinder, the stepped punch is provided with a thick rod section, and the thick rod section is provided with a thin rod section on at least one end in the axial direction, and the difference between the radius of the thick rod section and the radius of the thin rod section is less than or equal to 0.3 mm and the radius ratio of the two is less than or equal to 101:100; and the thin rod section and the thick rod section are transitioned by means of at least one tapered surface or/and curved surface, and the ratio of the difference between the radius difference between the thick rod section and thin rod section to the projected length of the tapered surface or/and curved surface in the axial direction is less than 0.2; the female die is composed of at least one thinning ring, and the thinning ring is arranged coaxially with the stepped punch; and the difference between the inner diameter of the thinning ring and the diameter of the thick rod section of the stepped punch is less than twice the wall thickness of the case body to be thinned; in the process of variable-wall-thickness stretching, the stepped punch drives the piece to pass through each thinning ring sequentially, and then leave the die to obtain the thinned piece; the thinned piece comprises a thin wall section corresponding to the thick rod section of the stepped punch and a thick wall section corresponding to the thin rod section of the stepped punch, the thick wall section is located at one or both ends of the axial direction of the thinned piece, and there is at least one tapered surface or/and curved surface transition between the thin wall section and the thick wall section.

6. The stretching process of battery case body according to the claim 5, wherein: the female die is composed of at least two thinning rings, and the at least two thinning rings are arranged coaxially with the stepped punch, and the inner diameters of the at least two thinning rings decreases successively along the punching direction.

7. The stretching process of battery case body according to the claim 5, wherein: the ratio of the wall thickness of the thinned piece after being thinned by the thinning ring corresponding to the thick rod section to the diameter of the thick rod section is 1:30.

8. The stretching process of battery case body according to the claim 5, wherein: stepped punch is provided with an air transmission through-hole along the axial direction of its central axis, and the air transmission through-hole is connected with a compressed air device; in the variable-wall-thickness stretching, after the stepped punch completes the stretching action, the compressed air device blows air to the bottom of the thinned piece through the air transmission through-hole to eject the thinned part.

9. The stretching process of battery case body according to claim 5, wherein: the raw material of the battery case body is aluminum alloy.

10. The stretching process of battery case body according to the claim 9, wherein: the raw material of the battery case body is aluminum alloy sheet or aluminum alloy plate.

11. The stretching process of battery case body according to claim 6, wherein: the raw material of the battery case body is aluminum alloy.

12. The stretching process of battery case body according to claim 7, wherein: the raw material of the battery case body is aluminum alloy.

13. The stretching process of battery case body according to claim 8, wherein: the raw material of the battery case body is aluminum alloy.

14. The stretching process of battery case body according to the claim 11, wherein: the raw material of the battery case body is aluminum alloy sheet or aluminum alloy plate.

15. The stretching process of battery case body according to the claim 12, wherein: the raw material of the battery case body is aluminum alloy sheet or aluminum alloy plate.

16. The stretching process of battery case body according to the claim 13, wherein: the raw material of the battery case body is aluminum alloy sheet or aluminum alloy plate.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the first punch press equipped with a die in this application;

[0036] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the second punch press equipped with a die in this application;

[0037] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the stretcher equipped with a die in this application;

[0038] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the stepped punch in this application;

[0039] FIG. 5 is a local enlarged view of FIG. 4;

[0040] FIG. 6 is the schematic view of sheet material during the formation of the battery case body of the application;

[0041] FIG. 7 is the schematic view of the cup-shaped piece during the formation of the battery case body of the application;

[0042] FIG. 8 is the schematic view of the re-stretched piece during the formation of the battery case body of the application;

[0043] FIG. 9 is the schematic view of the thinned piece during the formation of the battery case body of the application.

[0044] In the above described drawings: 1. First punch press; 2. Sheet material; 3. Cup-shaped piece; 4. First die; 5. Second punch press; 6. Re-stretched piece; 7. Second die; 8. Stretcher; 9. Thinned piece; 10. Stepped punch; 11. Thin rod section; 12. Thick rod section; 13. Tapered surface; 14. Thinning ring; 15. Punch guide device; 16. Thin wall section; 17. Thick wall section.

SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT

[0045] With reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiment, the present application will be described in detail.

Embodiment: A Stretching Process for Battery Case Body

[0046] Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 9, a stretching process for battery case body, which is used to stretch out the variable-wall-thickness case body suitable for end roll-sealing, that is, the middle of the case body in axial direction is thin wall section 16, and the two ends are thick wall section 17. The process includes the following stretching steps:

[0047] Step 1: Cupping (this step belongs to forming stretching). As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, use the first punch press 1 to press the sheet 2 through the first die 4 to obtain the cup-shaped piece 3.

[0048] Step 2: Re-stretching (this step belongs to forming stretching). As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, use the second punch press 5 to press the cup-shaped piece 3 through the second die 7 for forming to obtain the re-stretched cup-shaped piece 6, and the inner diameter of the re-stretched piece 6 is less than the inner diameter of the cup-shaped piece 3, and the height of the re-stretched piece 6 is greater than the height of the cup-shaped piece 3.

[0049] Step 3: Thinning (this step belongs to the variable-wall-thickness stretching in thinning stretching). As shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the stretcher 8 is used to stretch the re-stretched piece 6 for thinning stretching through the stepped punch 10 used as a male die and the three thinning rings 14 used as a female die to obtain the thinning piece 9; the three thinning rings 14 are arranged coaxially with the stepped punch 10 respectively. In the thinning step, the stepped punch 10 passes through each thinning ring 14 sequentially. In this embodiment, the punching speed of the stepped punch 10 is less than 400 times per minute.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the body of the stepped punch 10 is a cylinder, and the stepped punch 10 is provided with a thick rod section 12, and the thick rod section 12 is provided with thin rod sections 11 on two ends in the axial direction. In this embodiment, the difference between the radius of the thick rod section 12 and the radius of the thin rod section 11 is less than or equal to 0.3 mm and the radius ratio of the two is less than or equal to 101:100. The thin rod section 11 and the thick rod section 12 are transitioned through at least one tapered surface (one tapered surface was used in this embodiment and two tapered surfaces can be used), and the ratio of the difference between the radius difference between the thick rod section 12 and thin rod section 11 to the projected length of the tapered surface in the axial direction is less than 0.2.

[0051] Three thinning rings 14 are arranged coaxially with the stepped punch 10, and the inner diameters of three thinning rings 14 decreases successively along the punching direction. The difference between the inner diameter of the thinning ring 14 and the diameter of the thick rod section 12 of the stepped punch 10 is less than twice the wall thickness of the case body to be thinned.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 9, in the process of variable-wall-thickness stretching, the stepped punch 10 drives the piece to pass through each thinning ring 14 sequentially, and then leave the die to obtain the thinned piece 9. The thinning piece comprises a thin wall section corresponding to the thick rod section of the stepped punch and a thick wall section corresponding to the thin rod section of the stepped punch, the thick wall section is located at one or both ends of the axial direction of the thinning piece, and there is at least one tapered surface or/and curved surface transition between the thin wall section and the thick wall section. In this embodiment, the ratio of the wall thickness of the thinned piece 9 after being thinned by the thinning ring 14 corresponding to the thick rod section 12 to the diameter of the thick rod section 12 is 1:30. In this embodiment, the raw material of the battery case body is aluminum alloy, specifically aluminum alloy sheet or aluminum alloy plate.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the stretcher 8 is a horizontal stretcher, and the stepped punch 10 stretches in a horizontal direction. The stretcher 8 is also provided with a punch guide device 15 to guide the stepped punch 10 to stretch in a horizontal direction.

[0054] In this embodiment, the stepped punch 10 is provided with an air transmission through-hole along the axial direction of its central axis, and the air transmission through-hole is connected with a compressed air device. In the variable-wall-thickness stretching, after the stepped punch 10 completes the stretching action, the compressed air device blows air to the bottom of the thinned piece 9 through the air transmission through-hole to eject the thinned piece 9.

[0055] The following is the description about the other embodiment and structural changes of the present application: [0056] 1. In the above embodiment, a tapered surface transition is provided between the thin wall section 16 and the thick wall section 17. However, this application is not limited to this. Two tapered surface transitions or three tapered surface transitions can be used, or one curved surface transition or two curved surface transitions can be used, or even a transition of a combine tapered surface and curved surface can be used. These changes can be determined and selected according to the specific situation. It can be understood and accepted by those skilled in the art. [0057] 2. In the above embodiment, the punching speed of the stepped punch 10 is less than 400 times per minute. However, this application is not limited to this. The punching speed of stepped punch 10 can be set to be greater than or equal to 400 times per minute. It shall be determined whether the stretching effect and yield can meet the corresponding requirements when the production efficiency is improved like this. [0058] 3. In the above embodiment, three thinning rings 14 were used to form a female die, but this application is not limited to this. In theory, at least one thinning ring 14 is used. It is preferable to use two thinning rings 14, and three thinning rings 14 were optimally used in this embodiment. More thinning rings can also be used. In practical application, the selection of several thinning rings can be determined according to the geometric dimensions of the battery case body, material characteristics, material thickness and yield control and other factors. It can be understood and accepted by those skilled in the art. [0059] 4. In the above embodiment, the raw material of the battery case body is preferably aluminum alloy, such as aluminum alloy sheet or aluminum alloy plate, or aluminum alloy ingot. However, this application is not limited to the selection of aluminum alloy as raw material, but also other materials, such as stainless steel, copper, copper alloy and other metal materials suitable for stretching forming. [0060] 5. In the above embodiment, “the first punch press” and “the second punch press” are two punch presses, but this application is not limited to them. “The first punch press” and “the second punch press” can also be the same one. In this case, the first die can be installed on the punch, and the sheet material can be punched to form a cup-shaped piece, then the first die can be removed, the second die can be installed on the punch press, and then the cup-shaped piece can be punched to form a re-stretched piece with small diameter; and the progress die can be used on the same punch press. It can be understood and accepted by those skilled in the art. [0061] 6. In the above embodiment, the thick rod section of the stepped punch was provided with thin rod sections at two end in the axial direction. Correspondingly, the two ends of the thinning piece were provided with thick wall sections, but this application is not limited to this. The thin rod section can also be set only at one end of the thick rod section of the stepped punch in the axial direction, and the corresponding end of the thinning piece forms a thick wall section, which can be understood and accepted by those skilled in the art. [0062] 7. In the above embodiment, the stretcher is a horizontal stretcher, and the stretching action of the stepped punch is set in the horizontal direction. But this application is not limited to this. For example, the stretcher can also be vertical. Accordingly, the stretching action of the stepped punch is set in the vertical direction, but this vertical stretcher requires higher space height to accommodate the machine. It can be understood and accepted by those skilled in the art. [0063] 8. In the above embodiment, the battery case body can be formed by one cupping step, one re-stretching step and one thinning step. However, this application is not limited to this. The stretching process of the battery case body in this application can include multiple re-stretching steps and multiple thinning steps. In this application, the cupping step belongs to forming stretching, and the re-stretching step also belongs to forming stretching. The forming stretching refers to the stretching process in which the piece is changed from sheet to cup (commonly referred to as “cup-punching”). The forming stretching also includes the stretching process in which the diameter and length of the cupping are changed. The essence of forming stretching is mainly to change the shape and dimension of the stretching piece. In this application, the thinning step belongs to thinning stretching, and the thinning step in the above embodiment is essentially a variable-wall-thickness stretching. In fact, in this embodiment, the equal-wall-thickness thinning stretching can also be arranged, and the stretching can be arranged before the variable-wall-thickness stretching step, and even the equal-wall-thickness thinning stretching can be arranged between the two forming stretching steps. In fact, the order of forming stretching and thinning stretching is flexible, but the first stretching should be forming stretching and the remaining order of stretchings can be determined flexibly, and the re-stretching step and thinning step can even be arranged alternately. In practical, it can be determined according to the material characteristics, the shape and dimension of the stretched object to be stretched and other parameters, which are the existing technologies known to those skilled in the art.

[0064] It should be noted that the above described embodiment are only for illustration of technical concept and characteristics of present application with purpose of making those skilled in the art understand the present application, and thus these embodiment shall not limit the protection range of present application. The equivalent changes or modifications according to spiritual essence of present application shall fall in the protection scope of present application.