Patent Description:
Demand for secondary batteries as energy sources for electronic devices, such as mobile phones, laptop computers, and wearable devices, or electric vehicles has increased. Based on the type of electrode, secondary batteries are classified into a nickel-cadmium secondary battery, a nickel-hydride secondary battery, and a lithium secondary battery, and research and development on the lithium secondary battery, which has advantages of high operating voltage and high energy density per unit weight, has been actively conducted.

Based on the shape of a battery case, the lithium secondary battery is classified as a prismatic secondary battery or a cylindrical secondary battery having an electrode assembly mounted in a metal can or a pouch-shaped secondary battery having an electrode assembly mounted in a pouch case made of an aluminum laminate sheet.

For a secondary battery cell, an electrode assembly, obtained by stacking or winding a negative electrode and a positive electrode in the state in which a separator is interposed therebetween, is received in a case, and an electrode tab protruding from the electrode assembly is connected to an electrode lead. The electrode tab and the electrode lead are connected to each other by laser welding or ultrasonic welding. In general, the electrode tab and the electrode lead are fixed to a welding jig, and welding is performed on a welding portion therebetween. When the electrode tab and the electrode lead are welded by ultrasonic welding, however, foreign matter, such as spatter, is generated from the welding portion, and the foreign matter is attached to the welding jig, whereby welding quality between the electrode tab and the electrode lead is lowered.

Meanwhile, Patent Document <NUM> discloses a welding nozzle cleaning apparatus including a main body frame unit, an air supply unit coupled to the main body frame unit, a hose unit configured to allow air supplied from the air supply unit to move therethrough, and a collection unit coupled to the main body frame unit, the collection unit being provided at one side thereof with an opening, through which a nozzle is introduced, the hose unit being inserted into the collection unit so as to be coupled thereto; however, the construction of a micro-blaster for cleaning a welding jig is not disclosed.

<CIT> relates to a metal plate surface derusting and sandblasting device.

<CIT> relates to metal panel sandblasting and clamping mechanism.

<CIT> relates to an abrasive spraying device.

<CIT> relates to portable abrasive blasting equipment for surface cleaning.

<CIT> provides an apparatus for removing a thin-film layer on a periphery of a substrate of a plate-like member.

<CIT> relates to a sandblasting machine for roughening and cleaning dental products.

<CIT> relates to work fixing device which prevents a work or the like from being lifted up by jetting highpressure air from a blast gun at a high speed.

<CIT> relates to a device for cleaning the condition of a metal surface on which a strain gauge is to be attached.

<CIT> relates to a sandblasting machine capable of automatically processing a workpiece when a workpiece to be processed is put into a grinding table and operated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to remove pollutants, such as spatter, from a welding jig using a micro-blaster, thereby improving welding quality.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus capable of simplifying a welding jig cleaning operation through a novel welding jig mounting structure, thereby improving cleaning efficiency.

In order to accomplish the above objects, a combination of a welding jig and a welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus according to claim <NUM> is provided which includes a housing (<NUM>), a sandbox (<NUM>) connected to the housing, an air supply unit (<NUM>) connected to the sandbox with a hose, a blasting gun (<NUM>) positioned in the housing, a jig fixing portion (<NUM>) positioned at a lower end of the blasting gun (<NUM>), and a controller (<NUM>), wherein the jig fixing portion (<NUM>) includes a magnetic unit (<NUM>) configured to fix a welding jig (<NUM>).

In the combination of a welding jig and a welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, the jig fixing portion (<NUM>) includes a sliding unit (<NUM>) movable horizontally at the lower end of the blasting gun (<NUM>).

The sliding unit (<NUM>) may be rotatable by a predetermined angle in a horizontal direction.

In the combination of a welding jig and a welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, the blasting gun includes a blasting gun inlet (<NUM>) provided at a tip end of the blasting gun (<NUM>), wherein the blasting gun inlet (<NUM>) includes a discharge port (<NUM>) and a suction port (<NUM>).

The blasting gun inlet (<NUM>) may include a sealing portion (<NUM>).

The sealing portion (<NUM>) may contact a die (<NUM>) of the jig fixing portion (<NUM>) such that the welding jig (<NUM>) is positioned in an inner space of the sealing portion.

The sealing portion (<NUM>) may be made of an elastic material.

The blasting gun (<NUM>) may be connected to a moving unit so as to be movable upwards and downwards.

The sandbox (<NUM>) and the air supply unit (<NUM>) may be configured to adjust supply amounts of air and sand under control of the controller (<NUM>).

The housing (<NUM>) may include a housing door (<NUM>), and the housing door (<NUM>) may include an observation window (<NUM>).

In the present invention, one or more constructions that do not conflict with each other may be selected and combined from among the above constructions.

The combination of a welding jig and a welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is capable of removing pollutants, such as spatter, from a welding jig during a laser welding process, thereby improving laser welding quality.

The present invention has an advantage in that a welding jig cleaning effect is improved through horizontal movement and upward-downward rotation of a jig fixing portion.

The combination of a welding jig and a welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus according to the present invention may be located in a hermetically sealed housing, whereby it is possible to prevent secondary pollution due to cleaning.

Hereinafter, a micro-cleaning apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a schematic view of a battery cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, the battery cell <NUM> according to the embodiment of the present invention is a pouch-shaped secondary battery. The battery cell <NUM> may include a battery case <NUM>, an electrode assembly <NUM>, an electrode lead <NUM>, an insulating tape <NUM>, and an electrode tab <NUM>.

The battery case <NUM> may define the external appearance of the battery cell <NUM>, and may receive the electrode assembly <NUM>, the electrode lead <NUM>, and the electrode tab <NUM>, a description of which will follow, therein. The battery case <NUM> may be configured in the form of an aluminum pouch, and an aluminum thin film may be interposed between an insulating layer made of a polymer material and an adhesive layer made of a polymer material of the aluminum pouch.

The electrode assembly <NUM> may be received in the battery case <NUM>, and may include a positive electrode plate, a negative electrode plate, and a separator. Each of the electrode plates (positive electrode plates and negative electrode plates) of the electrode assembly <NUM> may be configured to have a structure in which an active material slurry is applied to an electrode current collector. The active material slurry may generally be formed by stirring active material particles, an auxiliary conductor, a binder, and a plasticizer in the state in which a solvent is added thereto. Each electrode plate may have an uncoated portion to which the active material slurry is not applied, and an electrode tab <NUM>, a description of which will follow, corresponding to each electrode plate may be formed at the uncoated portion.

The electrode lead <NUM> may be electrically connected to the electrode assembly <NUM>, and may protrude outwards from the battery case <NUM>. A pair of electrode leads <NUM> may be provided, and the pair of electrode leads <NUM> may include a positive electrode lead and a negative electrode lead.

The pair of electrode leads <NUM> may be connected to the electrode assembly <NUM>, and may protrude outwards from the battery case <NUM> in the same direction or in opposite directions.

The insulating tape <NUM> may be provided so as to correspond in number to the electrode lead <NUM>. In this embodiment, therefore, a pair of insulating tapes <NUM> may be provided.

The pair of insulating tapes <NUM> may prevent the occurrence of short circuiting between the battery case <NUM> and the electrode lead <NUM> and may increase sealing force of the battery case <NUM>.

The electrode tabs <NUM> may protrude from the electrode assembly <NUM> in order to connect the electrode lead <NUM> and the electrode assembly <NUM> to each other. Here, the electrode tab <NUM> may include a positive electrode tab and a negative electrode tab, each of which may be formed so as to protrude from the electrode assembly <NUM>. That is, the positive electrode tab may be formed so as to protrude from the positive electrode plate of the electrode assembly <NUM>, and the negative electrode tab may be formed so as to protrude from the negative electrode plate of the electrode assembly <NUM>.

The electrode tab <NUM> may include a plurality of positive electrode tabs and a plurality of negative electrode tabs. In this case, the plurality of positive electrode tabs may be connected to the positive electrode lead, which is one of the electrode leads <NUM>, and the plurality of negative electrode tabs may be connected to the negative electrode lead, which is the other of the electrode leads <NUM>.

The electrode tab <NUM> may be coupled to the electrode lead <NUM> by laser welding. Laser welding exhibits higher welding strength than ultrasonic welding, i.e. conventional main ultrasonic welding, and does not require a considerable welding width, which is required by the main ultrasonic welding. In addition, for laser welding, problems, such as wear or bending of equipment and burning of the electrode tab <NUM>, do not occur when welding is performed, unlike the conventional main ultrasonic welding.

In addition, for laser welding, the electrode lead <NUM> and the electrode tab <NUM> may be fixed and supported by a welding jig. Pollutants, such as spatter, generated during laser welding are attached to the welding jig, which leads to poor welding between the electrode lead <NUM> and the electrode tab <NUM>.

<FIG> is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus of the combination of a welding jig and a welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, <FIG> is a schematic view of the combination of a welding jig and a welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention positioned in a housing of <FIG>, and <FIG> is a schematic view of a blasting gun of the combination of a welding jig and a welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, the welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus includes a housing <NUM>, a sandbox <NUM>, an air supply unit <NUM>, a controller <NUM>, a jig fixing portion <NUM>, and a blasting gun <NUM>. The jig fixing portion and the blasting gun are positioned in the housing <NUM>.

First, when describing the housing <NUM> in detail, the housing is a portion that defines the external appearance of the welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus. The housing <NUM> may be formed in a hexahedral shape having an empty inner space. A housing door <NUM> may be positioned at an upper part of a front end of the housing <NUM>. The housing door <NUM> may be configured to open and close a part of a front surface of the housing <NUM> and a part of an upper end of the housing. After the housing door <NUM> is opened, a welding jig <NUM>, a description of which will follow, may be mounted to the jig fixing portion <NUM> located in the housing or may be separated from the jig fixing portion <NUM> and taken out to the outside. The housing door <NUM> may be manually opened and closed, and may be connected to an automatic control system so as to be automatically opened and closed as needed. A sealing means may be provided at a portion at which an edge of the housing door <NUM> and the housing <NUM> are connected to each other in tight contact with each other in order to hermetically seal the interior of the housing, whereby it is possible to prevent polluted sand or other pollutants dispersed during cleaning from being discharged to the outside.

An observation window <NUM> may be provided in a front surface (xz plane) of the housing door <NUM>. Cleaning of the welding jig <NUM> in the housing <NUM> may be observed through the observation window <NUM>.

Next, the sandbox <NUM> and the air supply unit <NUM> will be described in detail.

The sandbox <NUM> may be located above the housing <NUM>, and the air supply unit <NUM> may be connected to the sandbox <NUM>. The sandbox <NUM> may be formed in an approximately cylindrical shape or an approximately hexahedral shape. However, the shape of the sandbox is not particularly restricted as long as sand and other necessary members can be received in an inner space thereof.

The air supply unit <NUM> may be an air compressor. Compressed air from the air supply unit <NUM> may be supplied to the sandbox <NUM> through a compressed air supply hose (not shown). A compressed air distribution means (not shown), a cut-off valve (not shown), a pressure control valve (not shown), and a flow control valve (not shown) may be disposed in the compressed air supply hose. Compressed air from the air supply unit <NUM> may be supplied to the sandbox <NUM> and other rear equipment through the compressed air distribution means.

First compressed air (not shown), which is some of compressed air from the air supply unit <NUM>, may be supplied to the sandbox <NUM> through a connection pipe (not shown) so as to be mixed with sand.

A sand and air discharge port (not shown) may be located at a lower end of the sandbox <NUM>, and a three-way valve (not shown) may be located in the air discharge port. Sand and air mixed in the sandbox <NUM> may be introduced into a first hole of the three-way valve, and second compressed air (not shown), which is compressed air from the air supply unit <NUM>, may be introduced into a second hole of the three-way valve. The compressed air introduced into the second hole and the sand and air mixture introduced into the first hole may be discharged together through a third hole of the three-way valve. Here, the third hole may be connected to a supply hose <NUM> in order to transfer the sand supplied from the sandbox <NUM> to the blasting gun <NUM>. The amount and flow speed of sand supplied to the supply hose <NUM> may be adjusted using the first compressed air and the second compressed air, and a control valve (not shown) may be mounted on a transfer line for the first compressed air and the second compressed air in order to adjust the flow rate of compressed air.

Next, the controller <NUM> will be described.

The controller <NUM> according to the present invention may be connected to a side surface of the housing <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may control driving of the air supply unit <NUM>, operation of the control valve (not shown) configured to adjust flow rate of compressed air, upward and downward movement of a support portion <NUM> of the blasting gun <NUM>, a description of which will follow, on and off of a magnetic unit, and horizontal movement and rotation of a sliding unit <NUM>, a description of which will follow.

Next, the blasting gun <NUM> will be described.

In the present invention, a supply hose <NUM> connected to the third hole of the three-way valve located at the lower end of the sandbox <NUM> is connected to the blasting gun <NUM> to supply the sand and the compressed air discharged from the third hole of the three-way valve to the blasting gun <NUM>. A discharge hose <NUM> is located spaced apart from the supply hose <NUM> by a predetermined distance, and the supply hose <NUM> and the discharge hose <NUM> extend into a body portion <NUM> so as to be connected to the body portion <NUM>. Flow of a fluid in the supply hose <NUM>, the discharge hose <NUM>, and the body portion <NUM> will be described below in detail. The sand and the compressed air introduced into the body portion <NUM> through the supply hose <NUM> are sprayed through a blasting gun inlet <NUM> to remove pollutants from the welding jig <NUM>, a description of which will follow. The body portion <NUM>, which is connected to the supply hose <NUM> and the discharge hose <NUM>, may be fixed to a side wall of the housing <NUM> via the support portion <NUM>. In addition, the support portion <NUM> may be controlled by the controller so as to be movable upwards and downwards. The support portion <NUM> may be coupled to a vertical moving cylinder (not shown) so as to be movable upwards and downwards, and the vertical moving cylinder may be controlled by the controller <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the blasting gun inlet <NUM> may include a discharge port <NUM> and a suction port <NUM>. The discharge port <NUM> may be located at a tip end of an internal flow path (not shown) of the body portion <NUM> to which the supply hose <NUM> extending into the body portion <NUM> is connected. The discharge port <NUM> may spray the sand and the compressed air supplied from the supply hose <NUM> to the welding jig <NUM>, a description of which will follow, disposed thereunder in order to clean the welding jig. The internal flow path of the body portion <NUM> may be a hose or a stainless steel pipe. A partition wall of the body portion <NUM> is spaced apart from a partition wall of the internal flow path while wrapping the internal flow path of the body portion <NUM>, whereby a space functioning as an external flow path (not shown) is formed. The partition wall of the body portion <NUM> and the partition wall of the internal flow path are spaced apart from each other, whereby the suction port <NUM> is formed at a tip end of the blasting gun inlet <NUM>. The suction port <NUM> is located around the discharge port <NUM>. The discharge hose <NUM> is connected to the body portion <NUM> through the partition wall of the body portion so as to be opposite the suction port <NUM> in the state in which the external flow path is located therebetween. During a process in which the sand and the compressed air are sprayed through the discharge port <NUM> to remove pollutants from the welding jig <NUM> in order to clean the welding jig, the sprayed sand and the pollutants separated from the welding jig <NUM> are suctioned through the suction port <NUM>.

A sealing portion <NUM> may be located at an external partition wall around the blasting gun inlet <NUM>. The sealing portion <NUM> may be coupled to the circumference of the blasting gun inlet <NUM> so as to extend outwards from the body portion <NUM>, or may be configured to receive the welding jig <NUM> mounted to the jig fixing portion <NUM>, a description of which will follow, therein.

A tip end surface of the sealing portion <NUM> may be brought into tight contact with an upper end surface of a die <NUM>, a description of which will follow, and specifically may be made of an elastic material, such as silicone or synthetic rubber. The reason for this is that, when the jig fixing portion <NUM> is moved leftwards and rightwards or upwards and downwards, the jig fixing portion comes into contact with the sealing portion <NUM>, whereby damage, such as scratch, to the welding jig <NUM> mounted to the jig fixing portion <NUM> is prevented. In addition, the sealing portion <NUM> may be permanently fixed to the circumference of the blasting gun inlet <NUM> by adhesion, or may be detachably attached thereto through an attachment and detachment means. Here, the tip end surface of the sealing portion <NUM>, which is brought into tight contact with the die <NUM>, a description of which will follow, may be coated with a metal material. In this case, the extent of tight contact between the sealing portion and the die <NUM> is improved by a magnetic unit <NUM>, a description of which will follow, which is advantageous in suctioning the removed pollutant, such as spatter.

Next, the jig fixing portion <NUM> will be described in detail.

The jig fixing portion <NUM> may be located under the blasting gun <NUM>, and may include a die <NUM>, a sliding unit <NUM>, a sliding slit <NUM>, and a magnetic unit <NUM>. The welding jig <NUM> is located at an upper end of the die <NUM> so as to be cleaned by the sand and the compressed air sprayed from the discharge port <NUM> of the blasting gun <NUM>. The die <NUM> may have a plate shape. The magnetic unit <NUM> may be located at the die <NUM> in order to fix the welding jig <NUM>, whereby it is possible to prevent separation or displacement of the welding jig <NUM> during a cleaning process. The magnetic unit <NUM> may be constituted by a permanent magnet or an electromagnet. In the case in which the magnetic unit is constituted by an electromagnet, an on-off lever (not shown) may be provided. The magnetic unit <NUM> may be magnetized or demagnetized by manipulation of the on-off lever. In addition, magnetic force of the magnetic unit may be controlled. In the present invention, therefore, it is preferable for the magnetic unit <NUM> to be constituted by an electromagnet.

The die <NUM> may be connected to the sliding unit <NUM>, and the sliding unit <NUM> may be connected to a rear sliding driving portion (not shown) through the sliding slit <NUM>, which is formed in the partition wall of the housing <NUM>. The sliding unit <NUM> may be moved leftwards and rightwards in a horizontal direction by manipulation of the sliding driving portion. After the welding jig <NUM> is mounted to the upper end of the die <NUM>, the welding jig <NUM> may be moved under the blasting gun inlet <NUM> through operation of the sliding unit <NUM>, and cleaning may be performed.

In addition, a hinge coupling portion (not shown) provided at the sliding unit <NUM> to allow the die <NUM> to be rotated by a predetermined angle may be included. As a result, a disposition angle of the welding jig <NUM> may be adjusted, which is advantageous in effectively removing pollutants from a bent portion of the welding jig <NUM> through cleaning.

Claim 1:
A combination of a welding jig (<NUM>) and a welding jig micro-cleaning apparatus comprising:
a housing (<NUM>);
a sandbox (<NUM>) connected to the housing (<NUM>);
an air supply unit (<NUM>) connected to the sandbox (<NUM>) with a hose;
a blasting gun (<NUM>) positioned in the housing (<NUM>), wherein the blasting gun (<NUM>) comprises a blasting gun inlet (<NUM>) provided at a tip end of the blasting gun (<NUM>), and
wherein the blasting gun inlet (<NUM>) comprises a discharge port (<NUM>) and a suction port (<NUM>);
a jig fixing portion (<NUM>) positioned at a lower end of the blasting gun (<NUM>), wherein the welding jig (<NUM>) is mounted to the jig fixing portion (<NUM>)located in the housing (<NUM>); and
a controller (<NUM>),
wherein the jig fixing portion (<NUM>) comprises a magnetic unit (<NUM>) configured to fix the welding jig (<NUM>) and a sliding unit (<NUM>) movable horizontally at the lower end of the blasting gun (<NUM>) such that the welding jig (<NUM>) is moveable under the blasting gun inlet (<NUM>) through operation of the sliding unit (<NUM>).