METHOD FOR DISASSEMBLING A BATTERY HOUSING OF A HIGH-VOLTAGE BATTERY SYSTEM

Abstract

A method for disassembling a battery housing of a high-voltage battery system, in particular of a vehicle, in which housing parts of the battery housing are in material connection with each other along joining flanges, wherein for disassembling the battery housing a disassembly tool is inserted into a joining gap between the joining flanges to loosen the material connection.

Claims

1. A method for disassembling a battery housing of a high-voltage battery system in a vehicle, in which housing parts of the battery housing are in material connection with each other along joining flanges, the method comprising: inserting, for the disassembly of the battery housing, a disassembly tool into a joining gap between the joining flanges in order to loosen the material connection, the disassembly tool being a rotary cutter; inserting the rotary cutter into the joining gap in an infeed movement in the joining flange in a transverse direction over a penetration depth while separating the material connection; and rolling off the rotary cutter in a forward movement along the flange connection in the joining flange longitudinal direction.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the material connection between the two joining flanges extends in the joining flange transverse direction over a flange width, and wherein the penetration depth of the rotary cutter is less than the flange width so that after successful cutting or after completion of the infeed movement there is still a residual material connection between the joining flanges over a residual flange width, and wherein after the cutting process, a levering process takes place, in which a lever force builds up via which the two joining flanges are pressed apart so that the remaining residual material connection tears open.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the two joining flanges are in material connection with each other at a joining plane and/or wherein the rotary cutter rolls off during the forward movement about an axis of rotation, which is aligned at right angles to the joining plane.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotary cutter is not assigned a rotary drive operated by external energy, and wherein the rotary cutter only passively rolls off during the forward movement without its own rotary drive.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the material connection is an adhesive connection in which the two joining flanges are glued together with an intermediate adhesive layer.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotary cutter has a circular disc-shaped cutting blade, which is freely rotatably mounted about a rotation axis.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the cutting blade geometry is rotationally symmetrical with respect to the axis of rotation and/or wherein the cutting blade geometry is designed such that both the cutting process and the levering process are carried out via the rotary cutter.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the cutting blade has a cutting blade bottom, which is aligned substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation and which is supported in the cutting process and/or in the levering process on one of the joining flanges, and/or wherein the cutting blade bottom forms a flat cone angle with an outer radial, circumferential cutting flank and/or wherein the radial outer cutting flank merges into a radial inner, circumferential lever flank at a circumferential transition edge, which lever flank forms a steep cone angle with the cutting blade bottom such that in the course of the infeed movement or the forward movement, an outer portion of one of the joining flanges comes into sliding contact with the radial inner lever flank, whereby the two joining flanges are pushed apart by the lever force.

9. A disassembly tool for the method according to claim 1.

10. The disassembly tool according to claim 9, wherein the disassembly tool is a rotary cutter.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

[0024] FIG. 1 is a rotary cutter in a perspective representation, and

[0025] FIGS. 2 and 3 are, respectively, views illustrating a disassembly process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] FIG. 1 indicates a battery housing 1 of a high-voltage battery system, which is composed of two halves of the housing, namely a battery tray 3 and a battery cover 5. Battery components (such as battery modules, wiring harnesses and power electronics) that are not shown are arranged inside the housing. The two housing halves 3, 5 each have joining flanges 7 protruding from the outside of the housing, which are bonded together and in which the two joining flanges 7 are glued together at a joining plane F with an intermediate adhesive layer 9. The flange connection thus formed runs in a flange longitudinal direction x over the entire battery housing circumference. In FIG. 1 or 3, the adhesive connection extends in a joining flange transverse direction y over a flange width b.

[0027] The disassembly of the battery housing 1 can be carried out robot-assisted. For this purpose, a disassembly tool 11 is provided in FIG. 1. The disassembly tool 11 is realized as a rotary cutter with a circular disc-shaped cutting blade 13. This is rotatably mounted about a rotation axis R on a bearing console 15. The bearing console 15 can be mounted via a base plate 17 on an unseen distal end of a robot arm.

[0028] In the following, the cutting blade geometry, which is rotationally symmetrical to the rotation axis R, is described on the basis of the figures: Accordingly, the cutting blade 13 has a cutting blade bottom 19 aligned perpendicular to the rotation axis R. This forms a flat cone angle α (FIG. 3) with a radially outer, circumferential cutting flank 21. The radially outer cutting flank 21 merges at a transition edge 23 into a radially inner, circumferential lever flank 25, which forms a steep cone angle β (FIG. 3) with the cutting blade bottom 19.

[0029] By means of the cutting blade geometry described above, the disassembly process illustrated below on the basis of FIGS. 2 and 3 can be carried out: First, the cutting blade 13 is inserted in an infeed movement f.sub.y in the joining flange transverse direction y over a penetration depth Δy.sub.1 (FIG. 3) into a joining gap 27 between the two joining flanges 7. In FIG. 3, the penetration depth Δy.sub.1 of the rotary cutter 11 is smaller than the flange width b. This means that after the infeed movement f.sub.y, a residual adhesive bond remains between the joining flanges 7 over a residual flange width Δy.sub.2.

[0030] A forward movement f.sub.x of the rotary cutter 11 along the flange connection in the joining flange longitudinal direction x is superimposed in time on the infeed movement f.sub.y or temporally follows the infeed movement f.sub.y. During the forward movement f.sub.x, the circular disc-shaped cutting blade 13 rolls off passively while separating the adhesive connection in the longitudinal direction of the joining flange x. In the infeed movement f.sub.y and the forward movement f.sub.x, the cutting blade bottom 19 is supported in sliding contact on the facing, lower joining flange 7.

[0031] In the course of the infeed movement f.sub.y, until reaching the penetration depth Δy.sub.1, the upper joining flange 7 with its outer edge 31 (FIG. 2) comes into sliding contact with the lever flank 25 of the cutting blade 13, whereby a lever force F.sub.A builds up, by means of which the two joining flanges 7 are pushed apart.

[0032] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.