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 with a disassembly tool, the battery housing having housing parts that are in material connection with each other along joining flanges, the joining flanges having a joining gap therebetween and each extending along a flange longitudinal direction and having a flange width extending along a flange transverse direction, the method comprising: providing the disassembly tool, the disassembly tool including a rotary cutter; inserting, in an infeed movement in the flange transverse direction, the rotary cutter of the disassembly tool into the joining gap between the joining flanges until the rotary cutter reaches a penetration depth in the joining gap in order to loosen the material connection; and while the rotary cutter is inserted into the joining gap at the penetration depth, moving the rotary cutter in a forward movement in the flange longitudinal direction to separate the material connection along the joining flanges, wherein the material connection between the joining flanges extends over the flange width in the flange transverse direction, wherein the penetration depth of the rotary cutter is set to be less than the flange width so that after completion of the infeed movement, a residual portion of the material connection remains between the joining flanges over a residual flange width, and wherein after completion of the infeed movement, a levering process takes place, in which a lever force builds up via which the joining flanges are pressed apart so that the residual portion of the material connection tears open.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the joining flanges are in material connection with each other at a joining plane, and wherein during the forward movement, the rotary cutter rolls off about an axis of rotation, the axis of rotation being aligned at a right angle to the joining plane.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the rotary cutter is not assigned a rotary drive operated by external energy, so that during the forward movement of the rotatory cutter, the rotary cutter only passively rolls off during the forward movement.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the material connection is an adhesive connection in which the joining flanges are glued together with an intermediate adhesive layer, such that during the insertion of the rotary cutter into the joining gap, the intermediate adhesive layer is loosened.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotary cutter has a circular disc-shaped cutting blade, which is freely rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation, so that during the forward movement of the rotary cutter, the rotary cutter rolls off about the axis of rotation.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein a geometry of the cutting blade is rotationally symmetrical with respect to the axis of rotation, such that both the infeed movement and the levering process are carried out via the rotary cutter.

7. A method for disassembling a battery housing of a high-voltage battery system in a vehicle with a disassembly tool, the battery housing having housing parts that are in material connection with each other along joining flanges, the joining flanges having a joining gap therebetween and each extending along a flange longitudinal direction and having a flange width extending along a flange transverse direction, the method comprising: providing the disassembly tool, the disassembly tool including a rotary cutter; inserting, in an infeed movement in the flange transverse direction, the rotary cutter of the disassembly tool into the joining gap between the joining flanges until the rotary cutter reaches a penetration depth in the joining gap in order to loosen the material connection; and while the rotary cutter is inserted into the joining gap at the penetration depth moving the rotary cutter in a forward movement in the flange longitudinal direction to separate the material connection along the joining flanges, wherein the rotary cutter has a circular disc-shaped cutting blade, which is freely rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation, so that during the forward movement of the rotary cutter, the rotary cutter rolls off about the axis of rotation, wherein a geometry of the cutting blade is rotationally symmetrical with respect to the axis of rotation, such that both the infeed movement and the levering process are carried out via the rotary cutter, wherein the cutting blade has a cutting blade bottom, which is aligned substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation, wherein during the infeed movement and the levering process, the cutting blade bottom is supported on one of the joining flanges, wherein the cutting blade bottom forms a flat cone angle with an outer radial, circumferential cutting flank of the cutting blade, and the outer radial, circumferential cutting flank merges into a radial inner, circumferential lever flank at a circumferential transition edge, the radial inner, circumferential lever flank forming a steep cone angle with the cutting blade bottom, such that during the infeed movement or the forward movement, an outer portion of one of the joining flanges comes into sliding contact with the radial inner, circumferential lever flank to push apart the joining flanges by the lever force.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) 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:

(2) FIG. 1 is a rotary cutter in a perspective representation, and

(3) FIGS. 2 and 3 are, respectively, views illustrating a disassembly process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(4) 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.

(5) 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.

(6) 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 (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 (FIG. 3) with the cutting blade bottom 19.

(7) 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 y.sub.1 (FIG. 3) into a joining gap 27 between the two joining flanges 7. In FIG. 3, the penetration depth y.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 y.sub.2.

(8) 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.

(9) In the course of the infeed movement f.sub.y, until reaching the penetration depth y.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.

(10) 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.