This disclosure relates generally to lead-acid battery manufacturing equipment and processes, and, more particularly to, battery paste material application machines and hoppers equipped therein.
Lead-acid batteries are a common source of electrical energy and are often used as automotive batteries, marine batteries, consumer equipment batteries, industrial batteries, as well as in other applications. Among their components, lead-acid batteries include numerous plates that are assembled in a case and are made of lead or lead alloy metal grids with an electrochemically-active battery paste material applied on the grids. Somewhat early in manufacture, the grids are usually supplied in a continuous strip of individual cast grids connected together. The strip travels through a pasting machine and beneath a hopper where the battery paste material is applied to the grids. Battery paste hoppers hold a supply of battery paste material and steadily dispense sufficient amounts of the material to the strip of grids passing below. Rollers and paddles at an interior of battery paste hoppers and submerged in the battery paste material keep the material mixing and moving in the hoppers and incite dispensation of the battery paste material. Parameters of paste dispensation and flow to the grids can be governed, at least in part, by the arrangement of internal components of the battery paste hoppers such as its rollers. An example of a pasting machine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,437,867, assigned to Wirtz Manufacturing Company, Inc.
In an embodiment, a battery paste application hopper assembly may include a housing, a paste delivery roller, a feed roller, a scraper bar, and an actuator. The housing establishes an interior. The paste delivery roller is situated at the housing's interior. The feed roller is situated at the interior, and is located near the paste delivery roller. The scraper bar is situated at the interior, and is located downstream of a clearance that is established between the paste delivery roller and the feed roller. The actuator has a connection with the scraper bar. Actuation of the actuator prompts and incites rotation of the scraper bar.
In an embodiment, a battery paste application hopper assembly may include a housing, a paste delivery roller, a feed roller, and an actuator. The housing establishes an interior. The paste delivery roller is situated at the housing's interior. The feed roller is situated at the interior, and is located near the paste delivery roller. A clearance is established at a confrontation between the feed roller and the paste delivery roller. The actuator has a connection with the feed roller. The actuator is actuatable in order to rotate the feed roller about an eccentric axis. Rotation of the feed roller about the eccentric axis serves to adjust the clearance established between the feed roller and the paste delivery roller.
In an embodiment, a battery paste application hopper assembly may include a housing, a paste delivery roller, a feed roller, a scraper bar, a first actuator, and a second actuator. The housing establishes an interior. The paste delivery roller is situated at the housing's interior. The feed roller is located near the paste delivery roller. The feed roller has a first gear. A clearance is established at a confrontation between the feed roller and the paste delivery roller. The scraper bar is located downstream of the clearance, has a planar working surface, and has a second gear. The first actuator has a third gear. The first actuator is actuatable in order to rotate the feed roller about an eccentric axis via meshing of the first and third gears. Rotation of the feed roller about the eccentric axis serves to adjust the clearance. The second actuator has a fourth gear. The second actuator is actuatable in order to rotate the scraper bar via meshing of the second and fourth gears. Rotation of the scraper bar serves to adjust an angle of the planar working surface with respect to the feed roller.
Embodiments of the disclosure are described with reference to the appended drawings, in which:
With reference to the figures, an embodiment of a battery paste application hopper assembly 10 (hereafter, “hopper assembly”) is presented that is equipped as part of a larger battery paste application machine. Unlike past battery paste hoppers, the hopper assembly 10 employs automated control of one or more parameters of electrochemically-active battery paste material (hereafter, “battery paste”) delivery and feeding to a continuous strip of lead or lead alloy metal grids traveling beneath the hopper assembly 10. A more effective and efficient battery paste application process is hence furnished. In the embodiment described herein, the parameters subject to automation include volume of battery paste at the time of delivery and discharge out of the hopper assembly 10 and to the underlying strip of grids, and pressure of battery paste at such delivery and discharge. The battery paste application machine and hopper assembly 10 can be employed in a larger manufacturing setup and process that produces lead-acid batteries for automotive applications, marine applications, consumer equipment applications, and industrial applications, among many other possibilities. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms upstream and downstream refer to directions with respect to the general and intended aggregate movement of battery paste within the hopper assembly 10 amid use.
In general, the battery paste application machine accepts reception of the strip of grids and applies battery paste to the strip of grids. Applying battery paste is but one step in the larger manufacturing setup and process. After pasting, the pasted strip of grids is ordinarily led to a severing procedure in which the pasted strip of grids is cut into individual pasted grids, and then to a flash drying process to remove moisture from the applied battery paste, among other possible steps in the larger manufacturing setup and process; still, preceding and following process step may vary. Individual grids are typically composed of a lead or lead alloy metal, and designed with a peripheral frame and crisscrossing horizontal and vertical wires interconnecting at nodes with open spaces among the wires for receipt of battery paste. Among its main components, the battery paste application machine includes a frame, a belt, and the hopper assembly 10. The frame furnishes a structural skeleton, and is commonly made-up of a multitude of vertical, side, and cross members of steel joined together. The belt carries the strip of grids through the battery paste application machine from an entry end to an exit end and beneath the hopper assembly 10. The belts are often endless and driven by a motor and one or more rollers that keep the belts taut.
The hopper assembly 10 is supported by the frame at a location vertically above the belt, contains and holds a supply of battery paste, and dispenses the battery paste to the strip of grids carried by the belt below. The hopper assembly 10 can exhibit different designs, constructions, and components in various embodiments. In the embodiment presented by the figures, and with reference to
The housing 12 holds the supply of battery paste and has an open top 22 and multiple walls 24 at its sides. The walls 24 are four in total per this embodiment. An interior 26 is established by the housing 12 and by the walls 24. The supply of battery paste resides at the interior 26 during use of the hopper assembly 10. At a bottom 28, the housing 12 has an orifice plate mounted thereto. With the exception of an orifice slot, the orifice plate generally closes the bottom 28 of the housing 12. The orifice slot resides in the orifice plate and can have an elongated rectangular shape. The orifice slot fluidly communicates with the interior 26. Battery paste moves through and is fed out of the orifice slot to the strip of grids passing below amid use of the hopper assembly 10. Further, a depression can reside in a top surface of the orifice plate and, when present, resides in general confrontation with the housing's interior 26. The depression is shaped complementary to a paste delivery roller (introduced below) so that the roller can nest in the depression with a slight clearance maintained therebetween in assembly. The orifice slot has a location at the depression. Still, the housing 12 could have other constructions in other embodiments.
The rollers and paddles are submerged in the supply of battery paste and keep the battery paste mixing and moving at the housing's interior 26 and incite dispensation of the battery paste to the strip of grids at the bottom 28 of the housing 12. The rollers and paddles work together to facilitate aggregate movement of the battery paste downward toward the dispensation location of the hopper assembly 10. With reference to
Referring now to
The paste delivery roller 34 has a lowermost position of the rollers in the interior 26. A bottom portion 48—denoted approximately by the broken line in
The main motor 14 drives rotational movement of the rollers and paddles via a gearbox 56 amid operation of the battery paste application machine and use of the hopper assembly 10. The main motor 14 can be of the electric motor type.
The scraper bar 16 is situated just downstream of the clearance 50 and nestled adjacent the outer surface 52 of the first feed roller 30 in order to redirect battery paste movement following rotation of the first feed roller 30 adjacent the outer surface 52. The scraper bar 16 has an elongated extent similar to that of the first feed roller 30. In sectional profile, and as illustrated perhaps best by
The particular volume output of battery paste exiting and discharged from the orifice plate via the orifice slot, according to this embodiment, can be manipulated in part or more by the size and extent of the clearance 50 established between the first feed roller 30 and the paste delivery roller 34. Increased size generally corresponds to greater volume, and conversely, decreased size generally corresponds to lesser volume. Furthermore, the particular pressure output of battery paste exiting and discharged from the orifice plate via the orifice slot, according to this embodiment, can be manipulated in part or more by the angular and rotational position of the scraper bar 16 with respect to the first feed roller 30, and the concomitant extent of establishment and size, or non-establishment, of the clearance 60. When established, increased size generally corresponds to lesser pressure, and conversely, decreased size generally corresponds to greater pressure. Non-establishment also generally corresponds to greater pressure. In previous battery paste hoppers, if these volume and pressure parameters were capable of modification, it required manual hand/tool work and finetuning.
The first and second actuators 18, 20 automate aspects of parameter control. In the embodiment here, the first and second actuators 18, 20 are in the form of first and second servomotors 18, 20, but could take other forms in other embodiments. The first servomotor 18 is employed in order to facilitate automated control of volume of battery paste output and discharge from the battery paste application machine for dispensation to the strip of grids. The first servomotor 18 is actuated and deactuated amid its use. The first servomotor 18 is of the rotary actuated type according to this embodiment, but could be of another type in another embodiment. It is capable of precisely regulating angular position, velocity, and acceleration of its rotary output. In one example embodiment, the first servomotor 18 can be a VPL series and type servomotor supplied by company Allen-Bradley of Milwaukee, Wisconsin U.S.A; still, other servomotor products from other companies are possible in other example embodiments. With reference to
The automated control of volume facilitated by the first servomotor 18 can be implemented and carried out in various ways according to different embodiments. In the embodiment of the figures, and with reference now to
Rotation of the first servomotor 18 effects turning of the first feed roller 30 about the eccentric axis EA. A connection 62 is made between the first servomotor 18 and first feed roller 30 for this purpose. The connection 62 serves to transfer and transmit rotational drive of the first servomotor 18 to turning of the first feed roller 30 for adjustment purposes. In this embodiment, and with reference to
The second servomotor 20 is employed in order to facilitate automated control of pressure of battery paste output and discharge from the battery paste application machine for dispensation to the strip of grids. The second servomotor 20 is actuated and deactuated amid its use. The second servomotor 20 is of the rotary actuated type according to this embodiment, but could be of another type in another embodiment. It is capable of precisely regulating angular position, velocity, and acceleration of its rotary output. In one example embodiment, the second servomotor 20 can be a VPL series and type servomotor supplied by company Allen-Bradley of Milwaukee, Wisconsin U.S.A; still, other servomotor products from other companies are possible in other example embodiments. With reference to
The automated control of pressure facilitated by the second servomotor 20 can be implemented and carried out in various ways according to different embodiments. In the embodiment of the figures, and with reference now to
Rotation of the second servomotor 20 effects rotation of the scraper bar 16 about the central axis CA4. A connection 78 is made between the second servomotor 20 and scraper bar 16 for this purpose. The connection 78 serves to transfer and transmit rotational drive of the second servomotor 20 to turning of the scraper bar 16. In this embodiment, and with reference to
The first and second servomotors 18, 20 can be furnished with closed-loop feedback control capabilities as part of the administration of control amid operation of the battery paste application machine and use of the hopper assembly 10. Integrated encoders of the first and second servomotors 18, 20 enable closed-loop feedback control capabilities; in the example embodiments herein, the encoders are in the form of absolute rotary encoders. One or more electronic controllers 90 (
Still, other embodiments of the hopper assembly 10 could be equipped to automate control of only one of volume or pressure of battery paste output and discharge from the battery paste application machine. In the example of solely facilitating automated control of volume, the hopper assembly 10 could only have the first servomotor 18 and could lack the second servomotor 20; and conversely, in the example of solely facilitating automated control of pressure, the hopper assembly 10 could only have the second servomotor 20 and could lack the first servomotor 18.
As used herein, the terms “general” and “generally” and “approximately” are intended to account for the inherent degree of variance and imprecision that is often attributed to, and often accompanies, any design and manufacturing process, including engineering tolerances—and without deviation from the relevant functionality and outcome—such that mathematical precision and exactitude is not implied and, in some instances, is not possible. In other instances, the terms “general” and “generally” and “approximately” are intended to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that is often attributed to any quantitative comparison, value, and measurement calculation, or other representation.
It is to be understood that the foregoing description is not a definition of the invention, but is a description of one or more preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention. The invention is not limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed herein, but rather is defined solely by the claims below. Furthermore, the statements contained in the foregoing description relate to particular embodiments and are not to be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention or on the definition of terms used in the claims, except where a term or phrase is expressly defined above. Various other embodiments and various changes and modifications to the disclosed embodiment(s) will become apparent to those skilled in the art. All such other embodiments, changes, and modifications are intended to come within the scope of the appended claims.
As used in this specification and claims, the terms “for example,” “for instance,” and “such as,” and the verbs “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and their other verb forms, when used in conjunction with a listing of one or more components or other items, are each to be construed as open-ended, meaning that that the listing is not to be considered as excluding other, additional components or items. Other terms are to be construed using their broadest reasonable meaning unless they are used in a context that requires a different interpretation.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/342,661, with a filing date of May 17, 2022, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63342661 | May 2022 | US |