Cell Gripper and Cell Transfer Device Including the Same

Abstract

A cell gripper, includes a housing and a grip assembly mounted in the housing. The grip assembly includes: a cell support in which a cell seating groove having an upper portion into which a cell is introduced to be seated is defined; a pair of pinion gears provided on both side surfaces of the cell support to convert vertical linear movement of the cell support into rotational movement; a pair of gear frames coupled to the pair of pinion gears, respectively, to transmit the rotational movement of the pinion gears; and a pair of cell fixing members provided on end portions of the pair of pinion gears, respectively, to press and fix the cell seated in the cell seating groove from both sides. A cell transfer device including the cell gripper is also provided.

Claims

1. A cell gripper comprising: a housing; and a grip assembly mounted in the housing, wherein the grip assembly comprises a cell support defining a cell seating groove having an upper portion into which a cell is configured to be seated; a pair of pinion gears provided on opposing exterior side surfaces of the cell support, respectively, and configured to convert a vertical linear movement of the cell support into a rotational movement of the pair of pinion gears; a pair of gear frames coupled to the pair of pinion gears, respectively, and configured to transmit the rotational movement of the pair of pinion gears; and a pair of cell fixing members provided on end portions of the pair of gear frames, respectively, and configured to press and fix the cell seated in the cell seating groove from both sides.

2. The cell gripper of claim 1, wherein, in the grip assembly, the pair of pinion gears rotate by a descent of the cell support, and the pair of gear frames and the pair of cell fixing members move by the rotation of the pair of pinion gears in a direction of the cell seating groove, so as to press and fix the cell.

3. The cell gripper of claim 1, wherein the grip assembly further comprises an elastic member provided below the cell support and configured to provide an elastic force in a vertical direction of the cell support.

4. The cell gripper of claim 1, wherein the cell support comprises: a pair of rack gears extending in a vertical direction and spaced apart from each other, wherein each of the pair of rack gears has an outside surface having sawteeth formed thereon; and a connection part provided below the pair of rack gears that operably connect the pair of rack gears to each other.

5. The cell gripper of claim 4, wherein the cell seating groove is defined by inner side surfaces of the pair of rack gears facing each other and the connection part provided below the pair of rack gears, so as to define a U-shaped vertical section.

6. The cell gripper of claim 1, wherein each of the pair of pinion gears is provided with: an axial through-hole passing through opposing side surfaces of the pinion gear at a position corresponding to a virtual rotary axis; and a coupling protrusion protruding outward from a side surface of the opposing side surfaces in which the axial through-hole is defined.

7. The cell gripper of claim 1, wherein each of the gear frames comprise: a first frame coupled at a side surface of each of the pair of pinion gears; and a second frame having one side coupled to the first frame and the other side coupled to each of the cell fixing members, wherein one side of the first frame is disposed to correspond to an axial through-hole of each of the pair of pinion gears so as to be coupled to the pinion gear, and the other side is coupled to the second frame, wherein the first frame is coupled to a coupling protrusion of the pinion gear at a position between the one side and the other side of the first frame.

8. The cell gripper of claim 7, wherein each of the gear frames further comprise a third frame having one side coupled to the second frame and the other side rotatably coupled to the housing.

9. The cell gripper of claim 8, wherein the third frame is coupled to the second frame so as to be disposed between the cell fixing member and the first frame.

10. The cell gripper of claim 7, wherein the cell fixing member comprises: a pressing part provided as a flat surface; and a pair of coupling parts extending in a direction opposite to the flat surface of the pressing part.

11. The cell gripper of claim 10, wherein, in the second frame, the other side opposite to the one side coupled to the first frame is inserted between the pair of coupling parts to be rotatably coupled.

12. The cell gripper of claim 1, wherein a notch groove having a U-shaped vertical section is defined in the housing at a position corresponding to the cell seating groove.

13. The cell gripper of claim 12, wherein the notch groove is defined to have a size greater than a size of the cell seating groove.

14. A cell transfer device comprising: an at least one cell gripper; and a mount configured to fix the at least one cell gripper from below the at least one cell gripper, wherein the at least one cell gripper comprises a housing, and a grip assembly mounted in the housing, wherein the grip assembly comprises a cell support defining a cell seating groove having an upper portion into which a cell is configured to be seated, a pair of pinion gears provided on opposing exterior side surfaces of the cell support, respectively, and configured to convert a vertical linear movement of the cell support into a rotational movement of the pair of pinion gears, a pair of gear frames coupled to the pair of pinion gears, respectively, and configured to transmit the rotational movement of the pinion gears, and a pair of cell fixing members provided on end portions of the pair of gear frames, respectively, and configured to press and fix the cell seated in the cell seating groove from both sides.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a cell transfer device according to the related art and a cell seated in the cell transfer device.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a cell gripper according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention and a cell to be seated in the cell gripper.

[0027] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the cell gripper according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a coupling relationship between a pinion gear, a gear frame, and a cell fixing member of the cell gripper according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a cell transfer device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so as to enable those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains to easily carry out the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited by the embodiments set forth herein.

[0031] The parts unrelated to the description, or the detailed descriptions of related well-known art that may unnecessarily obscure subject matters of the present invention, will be ruled out in order to clearly describe the present invention. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the whole specification.

[0032] Moreover, terms or words used in this specification and claims should not be restrictively interpreted as ordinary meanings or dictionary-based meanings, but should be interpreted as meanings and concepts conforming to the scope of the present invention on the basis of the principle that an inventor can properly define the concept of a term to describe his or her invention in the best ways.

Embodiment 1

[0033] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a cell gripper 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention and a cell to be seated in the cell gripper 10. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the cell gripper 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 2, the cell gripper 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 100 and a grip assembly 200 mounted in the housing 100.

[0035] As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 100 may be a component that is provided to partially surround the outside of the grip assembly 200, fixes the grip assembly 200 therein, and protects the grip assembly 200 from external impact. Thus, the housing 100 may be provided according to the shape of the grip assembly 200 to be described later. A notch groove having a U-shaped vertical section may be defined in the housing 100 at a position facing a cell seating groove of the grip assembly 200 to be described later. The notch groove may serve to prevent an end portion of the cell from colliding with the housing 100 when the cell is seated in the cell seating groove. Here, the notch groove may be defined to have a size greater than the size of the cell seating groove to be described later. In more detail, the notch groove may have a size that is enough so as not to collide with the housing even though the cell is seated on the cell seating groove to descend. The descent of the cell seating groove will be described below in detail.

[0036] Successively, referring to FIG. 3, the grip assembly 200 is a component, which presses and fixes both side surfaces of the cell to prevent the cell from sliding to be separated during cell transfer, and includes a cell support 210, a pinion gear 220, a gear frame 230, and a cell fixing member 240.

[0037] The cell seating groove having an upper portion into which the cell is introduced to be seated is defined in the cell support 210. Here, the cell may mean an electrode assembly unit, in which an electrode and a separator are alternately stacked and which is cut to have a flat surface having a rectangular shape with a long side and a short side, and may include cells having various shapes such as bi-cell, mono-cell, and half-cell. The cell may be introduced from above the cell support 210, and the long side may be introduced into an upper portion of the cell seating groove to be seated in a state in which the cell stands upright.

[0038] The pinion gear 220 is provided in a pair on both side surfaces of the cell support 210, respectively, and converts vertical linear movement of the cell support 210 into rotational movement. When the cell is seated, the cell support 210 may move by a self-weight of the cell in a downward direction or in the gravity direction (hereinafter, referred to as descent of the cell support). The pinion gear 220 is provided to be engaged with a side surface of the cell support 210 to rotate according to the descent of the cell support 210. Here, the pair of pinion gears 220 may be provided to be disposed at sides opposite to each other with the cell support 210 therebetween and accordingly, rotation directions of the pair of pinion gears 220 may be opposite to each other, for example, a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction. When the cell is removed from the cell support 210, the cell support 210, which has descended by the weight, may return in an upward direction or in a direction opposite to the gravity direction (hereinafter, referred to as ascent of the cell support), and the pinion gear 220 may rotate in a direction opposite to the direction in which the pinion gear 220 has rotated according to the descent of the cell support 210.

[0039] The gear frame 230 is coupled to each of the pair of pinion gears 220 and transmits the rotational movement of the pinion gear 220. The cell fixing member 240 is provided on an end portion of each of a pair of gear frames 230, and the cell fixing members 240 press and fix the cell seated in the cell seating groove from both sides.

[0040] As above, in the cell gripper 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the cell fixing members 240 press and fix both the side surfaces of the cell so that the cell may be prevented from sliding to be separated during the transfer, a time taken for a separate positioning operation may be minimized to improve a takt time, and productivity may be improved even without increasing a load rate of the device.

[0041] In the grip assembly 200, the pair of pinion gears 220 may rotate by the descent of the cell support 210, and the pair of gear frames 230 and a pair of cell fixing members 240 may move, by the rotation of the pair of pinion gears 220, in a direction of the cell seating groove to press and fix the cell from both the sides.

[0042] On the other hand, the pair of pinion gears 220 may rotate, by the ascent of the cell support 210, in directions opposite to directions in which the pinion gears 220 have rotated according to the descent of the cell support 210, respectively, and the pair of gear frames 230 and the pair of cell fixing members 240 may move, by the rotation of the pair of pinion gears 220 in the opposite directions, in a direction that is away from the cell seating groove to release the fixing at both the sides of the cell. That is, when the cell is seated in the grip assembly 200 and the cell weight is applied, the cell fixing members 240 may press and fix the cell from both the sides, and when the cell is picked up and the cell weight is removed, the cell fixing members 240 may operate so as to release the fixing of the cell.

[0043] The grip assembly 200 may further include an elastic member 250 that is provided below the cell support 210 and provides an elastic force in a vertical direction of the cell support 210. Here, the elastic member 250 may be selected as a spring, but is not necessarily limited thereto. The elastic member is sufficient as long as one having a material or structure that is compressed when the cell is seated on the cell support 210 and recovered when the cell is removed. The elastic force of the elastic member 250 may be defined so that when the cell is seated on the cell support 210, the elastic member 250 can further descend than an initial position of the cell support 210 by the weights of the cell support and the cell.

[0044] Hereinafter, respective components of the grip assembly 200 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a combinational relationship among the pinion gear 220, the gear frame 230, and the cell fixing member 240 of the cell gripper 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0045] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the cell support 210 may include a rack gear 211 and a connection part 212. The rack gear 211 may have a length in the vertical direction, be provided in a pair to be spaced apart from each other, and have an outside surface having sawteeth defined thereon. The sawteeth defined on the outside surface of the rack gear 211 may be engaged with the pinion gear 220 described above to transmit, to the pinion gear 220, the linear movement of the ascent or descent of the cell support 210. The connection part 212 may be provided below the pair of rack gears 211 to connect the pair of rack gears 211 to each other. Accordingly, the pair of rack gears may ascend or descend as one movement, and also the pair of pinion gears 220 may rotate at the same angle.

[0046] The cell seating groove defined in the cell support 210 may be defined by inner side surfaces of the pair of rack gears 211 facing each other and the connection part 212 provided below the pair of rack gears 211 so as to have a U-shaped vertical section. That is, when in a state in which the cell stands upright, the long side of the cell is introduced into the upper portion of the cell seating groove to be seated, a lower portion of the cell may be supported by the connection part 212, and wide side surfaces of the cell may be supported, without being separated, by the inner side surfaces of the pair of rack gears 211 provided above the connection part 212.

[0047] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 together, the pinion gear 220 may be provided with an axial through-hole, which passes through both side surfaces of the pinion gear 220 at a position corresponding to a virtual rotary axis, and a coupling protrusion protruding outward from a side surface in which the axial through-hole is defined. A stationary shaft may pass through the axial through-hole of the pinion gear 220 so that the pinion gear 220 rotates in a state fixed in the vertical direction. Here, the stationary shaft may be provided in an inner surface of the housing 100. The coupling protrusion is provided on the side surface, in which the axial through-hole is defined, and may be provided to be spaced a predetermined distance from the axial through-hole. Here, the predetermined distance is determined as the dimension of a distance by which the gear frame 230 and the cell fixing member 240 to be described later move by the rotation of the pinion gear 220. Thus, as the distance between the coupling protrusion and the axial through-hole is relatively great, movement distances of the gear frame 230 and the cell fixing member 240 increase, and as the distance between the coupling protrusion and the axial through-hole is relatively small, the movement distances of the gear frame 230 and the cell fixing member 240 decrease.

[0048] The gear frame 230 may include a first frame 230-1, a second frame 230-2, and a third frame 230-3. The first frame 230-1 may be coupled at a side surface of the pinion gear 220. In more detail, the first frame 230-1 may have one side disposed to correspond to the axial through-hole of the pinion gear 220 to be coupled to the pinion gear 220. Here, a coupling hole (a reference symbol not shown) may be defined in the one side of the first frame 230-1, and the first frame 230-1 may be coupled at the side surface of the pinion gear 220 in a state in which the stationary shaft described above passes through the coupling hole of the one side of the first frame 230-1 and the axial through-hole of the pinion gear 220 together.

[0049] The first frame 230-1 may have the other side coupled to the second frame 230-2, and be coupled to the coupling protrusion of the pinion gear 220 between the one side and the other side. In more detail, a coupling hole may be defined also in the other side of the first frame 230-1, and a coupling protrusion provided on the second frame 230-2 is inserted into the coupling hole so that the first frame 230-1 and the second frame 230-2 may be rotatably coupled to each other at the other side of the first frame 230-1. A coupling hole may be defined also between the one side and the other side of the first frame 230-1, and the coupling protrusion provided on the side surface of the pinion gear 220 described above is inserted into the coupling hole so as to be coupled. However, the coupling method is not necessarily limited to such a coupling method using the coupling hole and the coupling protrusion. For example, the coupling protrusion may be provided in the first frame 230-1, and the coupling holes may be defined in the pinion gear 220 and the second frame 230-2 so as to be coupled to each other.

[0050] The second frame 230-2 may have one side coupled to the first frame 230-1 and the other side coupled to the cell fixing member 240. The structure in which the second frame 230-2 is coupled to the cell fixing member 240 will be described later.

[0051] The third frame 230-3 may have one side coupled to the second frame 230-2 and the other side rotatably coupled to the housing 100. In more detail, a coupling hole may be defined in the one side of the third frame 230-3, and a coupling protrusion provided on the second frame 230-2 may be inserted into the coupling hole so that the third frame 230-3 and the second frame 230-2 are rotatably coupled to each other. Here, the coupling protrusion provided on the second frame 230-2 is a component different from the coupling protrusion described above, which is coupled to the first frame 230-1, and may be provided at a point between positions at which the cell fixing member 240 and the first frame 230-1 are coupled to the second frame 230-2, respectively. That is, the third frame 230-3 may be coupled to the second frame 230-2 so as to be disposed between the cell fixing member 240 and the first frame 230-1. Accordingly, a movable range of the second frame 230-2 may be appropriately restricted, and the cell fixing member 240 to be described later may accurately press the side surface of the cell.

[0052] The third frame 230-3 may have the other side rotatably coupled to the housing 100. In more detail, another coupling hole may be defined in the other side of the third frame 230-3, and a stationary shaft defined in the inner surface of the housing 100 may pass through the coupling hole so as to be coupled. Here, the stationary shaft defined in the inner surface of the housing 100 is a component different from the stationary shaft described above, which passes through the pinion gear 220 and the first frame 230-1, and may be a component that fixes the third frame 230-3 alone. Thus, in a state in which the other side of the third frame 230-3 is fixed to the housing 100, the one side of the third frame 230-3 coupled to the second frame 230-2 may move.

[0053] Referring to FIG. 4, the cell fixing member 240 may include a pressing part 241 and a coupling part 242. The pressing part 241 is provided as a flat surface and may be a surface that presses and fixes the flat surface of the cell. Since the pressing part 241 is provided as a flat surface, damage of the cell may be minimized and also the cell may be effectively fixed compared to a method for fixing the cell by clamping.

[0054] A pair of coupling parts 242 may be provided to be bent from both sides of the pressing part 241 to a backward direction. Here, the backward direction may mean a direction opposite to the flat surface on which the pressing part 241 presses and fixes the cell. The pair of coupling parts 242 may be bent in the backward direction of the pressing part 241 to define a space between the coupling parts 242. Here, the other side of the second frame 230-2, which is opposite to the one side coupled to the first frame 230-1, may be inserted between the pair of coupling parts 242 so as to be rotatably coupled. Accordingly, even when the second frame 230-2 moves in an upward and downward direction or in a front and rear direction, a pressing part 241 surface of the cell fixing member 240 may be maintained to face in a certain direction. When the method of coupling the second frame 230-2 to the coupling parts 242 of the cell fixing member 240 is described in detail, coupling holes may be defined in the pair of coupling parts 242, respectively, a coupling hole may be defined also in the other side of the second frame 230-2, and the second frame 230-2 may be coupled to the coupling parts 242 at a position, which corresponds to the coupling holes of coupling parts 242 and the coupling hole of the second frame 230-2 described above, through a fixing pin, a screw, or the like, passing therethrough.

Embodiment 2

[0055] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a cell transfer device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Embodiment 2 of the present invention is different from Embodiment 1 in terms 4 transfer device including the cell gripper according to Embodiment 1.

[0056] The content in common with Embodiment 1 will be preferably omitted and the description of Embodiment 2 will be focused on differences. That is, it is apparent that the content that is not described in Embodiment 2 may be regarded as the content of Embodiment 1 if necessary.

[0057] Referring to FIG. 5, a cell transfer device 1 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention is provided with at least one cell gripper 10, and include a mount 20 that fixes the cell gripper 10 from below the cell gripper 10. That is, the cell gripper 10 may be provided in one or at least two as necessary. Preferably, as illustrated in FIG. 5, two cell grippers 10 are fixed and held to an upper portion of the mount 20. Accordingly, when the cell is seated in a direction of the long side, the two cell grippers 10 may more stably fix the cell.

[0058] The cell transfer device 1, which includes the cell gripper 10 and the mount 20 that fixes the cell gripper 10, may be transferred by means of, e.g., a conveyor belt. The cell gripper 10 includes a housing 100 and a grip assembly 200 mounted in the housing 100. The grip assembly 200 includes a cell support 210, in which a cell seating groove having an upper portion into which a cell is introduced to be seated is defined, a pair of pinion gears 220, which are provided on both side surfaces of the cell support 210, respectively, and convert vertical linear movement of the cell support 210 into rotational movement, a pair of gear frames 230, which are coupled to the pair of pinion gears 220, respectively, and transmit the rotational movement of the pinion gears 220, and a pair of cell fixing members 240 which are provided on end portions of the pair of gear frames 230, respectively, and press and fix the cell seated in the cell seating groove from both sides.

[0059] Accordingly, the cell transfer device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may prevent the cell from sliding to be separated, minimize the time taken for the separate positioning operation to improve the takt time, and improve the productivity even without increasing the load rate of the device. In the cell transfer device 1 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, the detailed configuration of the cell gripper 10 and the resultant effects may be understood to be the same as those in Embodiment 1.

[0060] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be variously implemented by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains, within the technical idea of the present invention and an equivalent of the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SYMBOLS

[0061] 1: Cell transfer device [0062] 10: Cell gripper [0063] 20: Mount [0064] 100: Housing [0065] 200: Grip assembly [0066] 210: Cell support [0067] 211: Rack gear [0068] 212: Connection part [0069] 220: Pinion gear [0070] 230: Gear frame [0071] 230-1: First frame [0072] 230-2: Second frame [0073] 230-3: Third frame [0074] 240: Cell fixing member [0075] 241: Pressing part [0076] 242: Coupling part [0077] 250: Elastic member