Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Electrical device making
Patent
1994-12-21
1995-10-24
Kalafut, Stephen
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Electrical device making
29730, H01M 210
Patent
active
054599229
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
LOADING APPARATUS AND METHODS
This invention relates to apparatus and methods for loading groups of battery plates or the like in adjacent cells in a holder.
During the manufacture of industrial and vehicle batteries, it is necessary to insert groups of plates into cells within a battery box. It can also be necessary to insert groups of plates into processing and manufacturing equipment. In many batteries the cells in the box or other holder are arranged side by side and it has been found that it is possible to insert the plates, simultaneously, into alternate cells using a guide defining a series of chutes. The guide is necessary because the plates are a very tight fit in the cell and often spread a little when gripped, thus making insertion difficult. By loading alternate cells it is possible for each chute to extend over the adjacent cell which has not been filled. Such an arrangement is shown in our U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,350.
There are other batteries, such as truck batteries, in which the cells are arranged in two side by side groups of three and in this case alternate cell filling is at best a lengthy procedure and at worst impossible because of the forces which would be applied to the intercedes of the cells.
The present invention is intended to overcome the problem of battery boxes or other holders having this configuration, but it will be understood that it is applicable to any arrangement of cells.
From one aspect the invention consists in apparatus for loading groups of battery plates or the like in adjacent cells in a holder, comprising guide means for defining adjacent spaces, each having a greater cross-section than a cell, means for inserting the groups in respective ones of the spaces, means for contracting the guide means around the groups and for adjusting the spacing of the groups so that the spaces substantially correspond in size and relative position with the cells, means for inserting the guide means in the cells with the groups in the spaces, and means for inserting the groups into the respective cells.
In a preferred embodiment, the means for inserting the groups in the spaces and the means for inserting the groups into the cells are the same and they may comprise means for gripping the sides of the groups and further independent means for holding and/or pushing the upper end of the groups.
From another aspect the invention consists in a method for loading groups of battery plates in adjacent cells in a holder, comprising inserting the groups in adjacent spaces defined by a guide means, each of the spaces having a greater cross-section than a corresponding cell, contracting the guide means around the groups and adjusting the spacing of the groups so that the spaces substantially correspond in size and relative position to the cells, inserting the guide means in the cells with the groups in the spaces and inserting the groups into the respective cells.
From a still further aspect there is provided apparatus for loading groups of battery plates or the like in adjacent cells having a common mid-plane in a holder, comprising at least two gripping means each for gripping a respective group, means for mounting the gripping means for movement towards each other along the plane, contractable guide means for engaging in the respective cells in its contracted position to guide insertion of the plates into the respective cells and for receiving the gripped groups in its expanded condition, means for simultaneously contracting the guide means and moving the gripping means towards each other until the spacing of guide means corresponds to the spacing of the cells, means for engaging the guide means in the cells and means for moving the gripping means through the guide means to load the groups in their respective cells.
In any of the above cases, the guide means may include wall means for defining a series of guide spaces for receiving the groups and these wall means may include a first set of walls lying generally orthogonal to the mid-plane and being mounted for contraction towards each other g
REFERENCES:
patent: 4887350 (1989-12-01), Hopwood
patent: 5407450 (1995-04-01), Rose et al.
Kalafut Stephen
Nuzzolillo M.
TBS Engineering Limited
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