JP4950164B2 - Internal crushing device for used secondary battery and processing method of used secondary battery - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an internal crushing device for a used secondary battery and a method for treating a used secondary battery.

  In recent years, lithium secondary batteries, in particular, non-aqueous electrolyte large-sized lithium secondary batteries exceeding 50 Wh have attracted attention as high-power secondary batteries used for power storage and the like. In general, a lithium secondary battery is manufactured by storing a suitably wound or laminated electrode (positive electrode and negative electrode) in a battery container and sealing it after injecting a non-aqueous electrolyte.

  In secondary batteries such as lithium secondary batteries, a film is formed on the electrode surface with partial decomposition of the electrolytic solution due to repeated use over a long period of time, that is, charge and discharge over a long period of time. There are things to go. Thus, when a part of electrolyte solution is decomposed | disassembled, generation | occurrence | production of the gas which consists of carbon dioxide, a hydrocarbon, etc. may be accompanied. Since the generated gas is gradually filled in the battery container, the internal pressure of the battery container is very high in a battery that has been used for a long period of time.

When processing a secondary battery that has been used due to the passage of its service life, that is, disassembling processing, sorting processing, and the like, various restrictions are imposed on the work. That is, as described above, since a high internal pressure is applied to the battery container, it is necessary to suppress as much as possible the adverse effects of the internal pressure during disassembly. In addition, if a short circuit occurs during disassembly, the battery may be ruptured or ignited due to thermal runaway. Therefore, it is necessary to perform disassembly work with care so as not to cause a short circuit. As described above, it is necessary to process a used secondary battery while ensuring high work stability under various constraints. From the standpoint that it is difficult to carry out such treatment under normal working conditions, it has been proposed to cool a used secondary battery to a cryogenic temperature such as −50 ° C. or less and to carry out freeze crushing ( For example, see Patent Document 1.)
International Publication No. 00/19557 Pamphlet

In the treatment method as described in Patent Document 1, since it is necessary to cool to an extremely low temperature of −50 ° C. or less, a very large cooling device or the like is required, and the entire treatment can be easily and accurately performed. It was difficult to say and the cost was high. In addition, the battery container only needs to be made of plastic, but there is a drawback that it cannot be accurately crushed when it is made of other materials such as metal.
For these reasons, there is a need for a processing method that performs processing accurately and efficiently while ensuring work stability under normal working conditions, but the actual situation is that no effective method has been established.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can easily and accurately perform each processing such as disassembly processing and separation processing of a used secondary battery, and easily reuse or discard the material. It is an object of the present invention to provide an internal crushing device for used secondary batteries and a method for treating used secondary batteries.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an internal crushing device used for crushing an electrode disposed in a battery container of a used secondary battery, wherein the battery is opened from an opening formed in the battery container. A rotary crushing member that crushes the electrode by being inserted into a container and rotated, and an actuator that rotationally drives the rotary crushing member are provided.

  By using the internal crushing device with such a configuration, even an electrode that has expanded due to long-term use and has become extremely difficult to take out from the battery container, it can be finely crushed and separated in the battery container, It can be easily and accurately removed from the battery container.

  Invention of Claim 2 is an internal crushing apparatus of Claim 1, Comprising: The said rotary crushing member is a drill by which the groove part was helically formed in the outer peripheral side of the substantially cylindrical drill main body. It is characterized by that.

  By using the drill having such a configuration, it can be easily inserted into the battery container, and the electrode can be easily bited into the spiral groove portion so that more electrodes can be crushed in a short time. Can do.

  Invention of Claim 3 is an internal crushing apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2, Comprising: The horizontal movement mechanism which makes the said rotation-type crushing member movable along the expansion direction of the said opening part, And a cover that covers the opening.

  By using the internal crushing device having such a configuration, the internal crushing device is fixed at a predetermined position near the opening, and only the rotary crushing member is moved to crush the electrode in the battery container in a wider range. can do. And since the cover which covers an opening part is provided, it is prevented exactly that the electrode crushed by the rotary crushing member is scattered.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, after the gas and / or electrolyte solution is extracted from the battery container, a part of the battery container is cut out to form an opening. The internal crushing device according to claim 1 is inserted into the battery container from the opening, and the electrode in the battery container is crushed by rotating the rotary crushing member to rotate the electrode. It is characterized by taking out.

  Thus, since the used secondary battery is processed using the internal crushing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the battery is expanded by long-term use and is extremely difficult to take out from the battery container. Even electrodes that are difficult can be easily crushed and separated in the battery container and easily and accurately removed from the battery container.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, a lithium secondary battery as a used secondary battery processed in this embodiment will be described. The lithium secondary battery 100 shown in FIG. 2 is a secondary battery that has been used after being repeatedly charged and discharged by long-term use.

  A lithium secondary battery 100 includes a laminate of plate electrodes, that is, a plate-like positive electrode (electrode) 104, in a battery container 101 as an airtight container provided with electrode terminals, that is, a positive electrode terminal 102 and a negative electrode terminal 103. A laminate (see FIG. 5A and the like) in which negative electrodes (electrodes) 105 are alternately laminated and an electrolytic solution (not shown) are accommodated.

  The battery container 101 is a sealed container having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape in which plate-like bodies made of metal such as aluminum or plastic are combined. That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), a bottom plate portion having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, four side plate portions that stand up from each peripheral portion of the bottom plate, a positive electrode terminal 102, and a negative electrode terminal 103. The electrode laminated body and electrolyte solution inside are sealed.

The positive electrode 104 using a lithium composite oxide such as lithium manganate as an active material and the negative electrode 105 using a graphite material or the like as an active material are alternately stacked in the horizontal direction. A separator (not shown) made of a nonwoven fabric or a microporous film is interposed between each positive electrode 104 and negative electrode 105, and the positive electrode 104 and the negative electrode 105 are separated from each other.
This separator is impregnated with an electrolytic solution. As an example of the electrolytic solution, LiPF ₆ (lithium hexafluorophosphate) is mixed in a mixed solvent composed of EC (ethylene carbonate) and DMC (dimethyl carbonate), Diox (1,3-dioxolane), THF (tetrahydrofuran), or the like. And LiClO ₄ (lithium perchlorate), LiCF ₃ SO _{3 and the} like are dissolved.

  The positive electrode 104, the negative electrode 105, and the separator impregnated with the electrolyte solution are formed so that a gap (not shown) is formed on the upper side in the battery container 101, that is, with a slight dimensional allowance. Thus, the battery container 101 is accommodated and sealed. In this gap portion, there are a positive electrode current collector (not shown) that connects each positive electrode 104 and positive electrode terminal 102, and a negative electrode current collector (not shown) that connects each negative electrode 105 and negative electrode terminal 103. Is provided.

  Since this lithium secondary battery 100 has been repeatedly charged and discharged over a long period of time, a film is formed on the electrode surface with partial decomposition of the electrolytic solution. In addition, when a part of the electrolytic solution is decomposed, a gas composed of carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon, or the like is generated, and this gas is filled in the battery container 101 so that the internal pressure of the battery container 101 is very high. It has become.

  Such a lithium secondary battery is processed using a perforation probe (perforation device) 10 shown in FIG. 1 or the like, or a crushing drill unit (internal crushing device) 20A, 20B shown in FIGS.

  First, the perforation probe 10 will be described. The perforated probe 10 is used to open a hole in the battery container 101 of the lithium secondary battery 100 and to extract the gas and electrolyte in the battery container 101 from the hole to the outside. The probe main body (device main body) 11 And a needle member (moving member) 12, an O-ring (annular elastic body) 13, and fixing rods 14 and 14.

  The probe body 11 is a substantially cylindrical member having flat portions on the front end side and the rear end side, respectively, and a second opening that opens to the rear side from the first opening 11h1 that opens to the front end side. A lead-out hole 11a penetrating to the portion 11h2 is formed. Further, an insertion hole 11b is formed that branches from the middle of the lead-out hole 11a and penetrates to the third opening 11h3 that opens to the rear end side.

  The lead-out hole 11a leads the gas and electrolyte extracted from the battery container 101 to the outside. The lead-out hole 11a leads from the first opening 11h1 on the front end side of the probe body 11 to the second opening on the side of the probe body 11. It is formed so as to be bent in the middle so as to penetrate to 11h2. That is, after extending to the middle of the probe body 11 along the axis O1 extending from the first opening 11h1 toward the rear end, the axis O2 is not parallel to the axis O1 with the bending point X as a boundary. The second opening 11h2 is formed along the side. Here, the extending direction of the lead-out hole 11a is changed with a certain bending point X as a boundary, but the extending direction may be changed by smoothly bending.

  The insertion hole 11b allows the needle member 12 to pass therethrough, and is formed so as to branch from the lead-out hole at the bending point X and penetrate the third opening 11h3 on the rear end side along the axis O1. That is, the lead-out hole 11a and the insertion hole 11b communicate with each other at the bending point X such that the axis O1 that is an axis connecting the first opening 11h1 and the third opening 11h3 is substantially a straight line. Thus, the lead-out hole 11a and the insertion hole 11b are each formed in the probe body 11 so as to have a substantially square shape in cross section. A female screw 11s is formed on the inner peripheral side of the insertion hole 11b.

  The needle member 12 is for making a hole in the battery container 101, and is a substantially rod-shaped member provided in the lead-out hole 11b and in the lead-out hole 11a on the front side of the bending point X so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. It is. A perforated portion 12a is formed on the distal end side of the needle member 12, and a disk-shaped rotary knob 12r is integrally provided on the rear end side. The perforated portion 12a has a substantially wedge shape so that once the hole is perforated, the diameter of the hole can be further increased. That is, it is possible to change the hole diameter in at least two stages, for example, by drilling a pinhole for degassing and then expanding the pinhole into a large-diameter hole for removing the electrolyte.

The female screw 11s formed on the inner peripheral side of the insertion hole 11b and the male screw 12s formed on the outer peripheral side of the needle member 12 are sealing means for sealing the gap between the insertion hole 11a and the needle member 12. It is composed. That is, by screwing together, the gas and the electrolyte in the outlet hole 11a are prevented from flowing out through the gap and leaking out from the third opening 11h3.
Further, since the male screw 12s and the female screw 11s are screwed together, if the rotary knob 12r is rotated in one direction, the needle member 12 can be accurately advanced and the force for drilling can be drilled. It can be accurately transmitted to the part 12a.

  The O-ring 13 is provided in an annular shape on the peripheral side of the first opening 11h1 on the front end side of the probe body 11 so as to surround the opening. The O-ring 13 is elastically deformed when the front end portion side of the probe main body 11 is pressed against the outer surface of the battery container 101, and presses the perforated probe 10 and the battery container 101 without gaps. That is, the inner side and the outer side of the O-ring 13 are properly sealed.

  The fixing rods 14 and 14 are substantially rod-shaped members that are provided integrally with the probe main body 11 so as to protrude in opposite directions from the side of the probe main body 11 in a pair. As shown in FIG. 2, insertion holes (not shown) for inserting connecting rods 15 and 15 (described later) are formed at positions near the distal ends of the fixing rods 14 and 14, respectively.

  Such a perforation probe 10 is press-fixed to a predetermined position on the outer surface of the battery container 101, that is, a position to perforate using a fixing means. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of connecting rods 15 and 15 having male screws formed on both end sides, an end plate 16 disposed at a position facing the perforation probe 10 and the battery container 101, Fixing means is constituted by the male screws of the connecting rods 15 and 15 and the butterfly screws 17 screwed together. That is, one end side of the pair of connecting rods 15 and 15 is inserted into each of holes or grooves (not shown) formed in the fixing rod 14, and the other end side of the connecting rods 15 and 15 is inserted. The holes are inserted into holes or grooves (not shown) formed in the end plate 16. And the perforation probe 10 can be press-fitted and fixed to the predetermined position of the outer surface of the battery container 101 by screwing the wing screw 17 to the both ends of the connecting rods 15 and 15 and tightening firmly.

The perforation position is not limited, but it is desirable that the perforation position be the upper outer surface of the side plate portion of the lithium secondary battery 100, that is, the outer surface of the side plate portion at the position of the gap between the electrode and the electrode terminal. This is because at this position, there is almost no possibility of contact between the needle member 12 and the electrode, and there is almost no possibility of causing a short circuit or the like.
Prior to drilling, the second opening 11h2 is connected in advance to a flow path such as a pipe l and the gas and the electrolyte derived from the drilled hole are sent to a storage means or processing means (not shown). Be able to do that. Examples of the gas processing means include a gas absorption cylinder that can supplement organic components in the gas.

  In this way, with the piercing probe 10 fixed, the rotary knob 12r is rotated in one direction to advance the needle member 12, and the piercing portion 12a protrudes from the first opening portion 11h1 to protrude from the outer surface of the battery container 101. Open a small-diameter hole at this position. First, since it is necessary to extract gas from the battery container 101 having a high internal pressure, in order to minimize the influence of the internal pressure, the small diameter hole to be drilled as the first stage has an inner diameter (hole diameter) of about 1 mm. It is preferable to make a pinhole of a degree. In addition, illustration of the drilled hole is abbreviate | omitted in drawings other than FIG.

  After drilling this pinhole, the needle member 12 is retracted. If it carries out like this, the gas with which the battery container 101 is filled will eject from a pinhole. At this time, since the periphery of the pinhole is sealed by the elastically deformed O-ring 13, the ejected gas cannot leak from between the battery container 101 and the probe body 11 to the outside. Yes. That is, almost all of the ejected gas is introduced into the outlet hole 11 a of the probe body 11.

The gas introduced into the outlet hole 11a tries to flow along the axis O1 toward the third opening 11h3. At this time, since the probe main body 12 is screwed into the insertion hole 11b and the gap between them is sealed, the gas in the lead-out hole 11 flows through the insertion hole 11b and leaks out from the third opening 11h3. I can't do that. Therefore, almost the entire amount of the gas is bent along the outlet hole 11a, that is, is led out to the second opening 11h2 along the axis O2 from the middle.
In this way, almost all of the gas in the battery container 101 is led out from the first opening 11h1 to the second opening 11h2 through the lead-out hole 11a, and is sent to the storage means or the processing means by the conduit l. Then, the appropriate processing is performed.

  After the gas has been extracted from the battery container 101 in this manner, the electrolyte is then extracted. At this time, since the pressure in the battery container 101 has dropped to a value that can be said to be almost normal pressure, the needle member 12 is used again to expand the pinhole and to have a large size suitable for extracting liquid. A hole with a diameter. Thus, it is preferable that the large-diameter hole that expands as the second stage has an inner diameter (hole diameter) of about 5 mm. In addition to this hole, it is preferable that a hole for air venting is separately drilled by using another drilling probe 10 or the like.

  After the diameter expansion, the needle member 12 is retracted to incline the battery container 101 or suck the battery container 101 from the side of the pipe line l to extract the electrolyte from the hole and introduce it into the outlet hole 11a. As described above, since the gaps between the battery container 101 and the probe main body 11 and between the insertion hole 12b and the needle member 12 are sealed, the electrolyte leaks out from these portions. I can't do that. Therefore, almost all of the electrolyte in the battery container 101 is led out from the first opening 11h1 to the second opening 11h2 through the lead-out hole 11a, and is stored or treated by the pipe line l. Will be sent to and processed accordingly.

  As shown in FIG. 3, it is more preferable to clean the inside of the battery container 101 after extracting the gas and the electrolytic solution using a pair of perforation probes 10. In the example of this figure, a pair of perforation probes 10 and 10 are pressed and fixed at positions separated from each other on the outer surface of the battery container 101 by using a pair of connecting rods 15 and 15 and a thumbscrew 17 as fixing means. Yes. Here, in order to improve the cleaning efficiency in the battery container 101, the pair of piercing probes 10 and 10 are pressed and fixed to the side plate portions facing each other. That is, another perforation probe 10 is used at the position of the end plate 16 in FIG.

  Before the drilling, the second opening 11h2 of each drilling probe 10 is connected in advance with a flow path such as a pipe line 1 or the like, and both are connected to each other, and a circulation tank T and a circulation pump are provided in the middle of the pipe line l. P is provided.

  In this way, the rotary knob 12r of at least one of the perforation probes 10 is operated to open a small-diameter hole, that is, a pinhole having an inner diameter (hole diameter) of about 1 mm in the battery container 101, and eject gas. This gas is sent from the perforation probe 10 to the circulation tank T through the pipe line 1 and subjected to appropriate processing.

  After the gas has been extracted from the battery container 101 in this manner, the electrolytic solution is then extracted, and the battery container 101 is cleaned using a cleaning liquid. In advance, both of the perforation probes 10 and 10 are operated to perforate a pair of large-diameter holes appropriately sized to circulate the liquid, that is, a pair of holes having an inner diameter (hole diameter) of about 5 mm. Then, the circulation pump P is driven to extract the electrolytic solution, and the cleaning liquid in the circulation tank T is circulated from one piercing probe 10 to the other piercing probe 10. Thus, the inside of the battery container 10 after the electrolytic solution is extracted is washed, and the electrolytic solution adhering to the electrodes and the separator is sufficiently washed away.

  More preferably, after the inside of the battery container 101 is cleaned, the inside of the battery container 101 is dried by purging or circulating a drying gas using the pair of perforation probes 10 and 10 as they are. Nitrogen, argon, dry air, etc. are used as this drying gas. In the case of performing such drying, a gas supply means for supplying a drying gas, a gas circulation pump, or a drying gas after purging is collected in the middle of the pipe 1 in advance. The gas recovery means and the like (not shown) are appropriately attached. In this way, the drying gas is purged or circulated from one piercing probe 10 to the other piercing probe 10. Thus, the inside of the battery container 10 after the electrolytic solution is extracted is sufficiently dried.

  In this way, a part of the battery container 101 from which the gas and the electrolytic solution have been extracted or washed and dried is cut out to form an opening. Here, it cuts along the cutting line C1 shown in FIG. That is, the upper side, that is, the lid plate part side is cut off with the height position of the hole H perforated by the perforation probe 10 as a boundary. If it is this cutting position, since the inside of the battery container 101 is a gap as described above, it can be easily cut, and the entire upper side of the electrode can be opened to easily take out the electrode.

FIG. 5A shows the battery container 101 cut and separated. In this figure, the lid plate portion to be cut out is denoted by reference numeral 101b, and the lower battery container from which the lid plate portion 101b has been removed is denoted by reference numeral 101a. Although illustration is omitted here, the positive electrode current collector that connects the positive electrode 104 and the positive electrode terminal 102 and the negative electrode current collector that connects the respective negative electrode 105 and the negative electrode terminal 103 must also be cut off. Needless to say, there is. Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, the electrode laminate, that is, the positive electrode 104, the negative electrode 105, and the separator are taken out from the upper opening of the battery container 101a from which the cover plate portion 101b has been cut.
In this way, the used lithium secondary battery 100 is disassembled, and the separated components, that is, the electrodes and separators, the battery container 101a, the cover plate portion 101b, and the like are collected and separated as respective materials. In this way, each material that has been subjected to each process such as the dismantling process and the sorting process is reused or discarded.

  Note that the electrode may expand due to long-term use, and it may be difficult to remove the battery from the battery container 101. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), the battery container 101a is cut along the cutting line C2, separated into right and left, and then the electrode stack is taken out for easy removal. Can be done.

  In addition, when the electrode expands so that the battery container 101 and the electrode are almost integrally pressed and fixed, and it is extremely difficult to take out, the electrode is crushed in the battery container 101a and then taken out. . In this case, a crushing drill unit (internal crushing device) 20A as shown in FIG. 7 is used.

  The crushing drill unit 20A includes a drill (rotary crushing member) 21 and a motor (actuator) M that supports the drill 21 substantially vertically and rotationally drives it. The drill 21 is a drill having a configuration in which a groove 21b is formed in a spiral shape on the outer peripheral side of a substantially cylindrical drill body 21a, that is, a drill having a configuration similar to a general woodworking drill. The drill 21 is required to be easily inserted between the electrodes and to easily bite the electrode into the groove 21b to improve the crushing efficiency. Therefore, it is preferable to use a drill having a configuration similar to that of a woodworking drill, in which the drill body 21a has an elongated cylindrical shape and the groove 21b is formed in a large area.

  The crushing drill unit 20A is supported on a stand or the like (not shown), and while the drill 21 is rotated, the crushing drill unit 20A is inserted between the electrodes in the battery container 101a from the upper side to sequentially crush and take out the electrodes. The extracted electrodes, separators, and the like are collected and separated as respective materials in the same manner as described above, and then reused or discarded.

It is more preferable to use the crushing drill unit 20B shown in FIG. 8 instead of the crushing drill unit 20A. The crushing drill unit 20 </ b> B includes a plurality of drills 21, a motor (actuator) M < _b > ₂ that rotates these drills and moves them in the lateral direction, and a cover 22 that covers the opening. The crushing drill unit 20A can be moved up and down by being supported by a vertical movement member 23 provided on the stand 24 and capable of moving up and down.

Motor M _2, like the motor M in the crushing drilling unit 20A, in addition to the function of rotating the respective drill 21, can move these drill 21 in the lateral direction, that the battery container 101a in the spread direction of the opening The function as a lateral movement mechanism is also secured. By making the drill 21 laterally movable in this manner, the electrode in the battery container 101a can be crushed over almost the entire region without moving the stand 24. In addition, the structure of the drill 21 is equivalent to the drill 21 in the crushing drill unit 20A. The cover 22 is a plate-like member that covers the entire opening of the battery container 101a from the upper side of the drill 21, and prevents the fragments of the electrodes crushed by the drill 21 from scattering to the outside. .

  While each drill 21 is rotated, the crushing drill unit 20B is lowered and inserted between the electrodes in the battery container 101a from above to crush the electrodes. Then, each drill 21 is sequentially moved in the lateral direction, and the electrodes in the battery container 101a are sequentially crushed and taken out over the entire area. The extracted electrodes, separators, and the like are collected and separated as respective materials in the same manner as described above, and then reused or discarded.

Note here that, while so as to function also serves as a lateral movement to the motor M _2, may be used independent actuators with a drive rotating the lateral mobile, also those lateral movement mechanism manually It is good.

  In the perforation probe 10 according to the present embodiment, a substantially cylindrical probe main body 11 in which a lead-out hole 11a penetrating from the first opening 11h1 on the front end side to the second opening 11h2 on the rear side is formed; When the front end of the probe body 11 is annularly provided around the first opening 11h1 on the front end side of the probe main body 11 so as to surround the first opening 11h1, the front end of the probe main body 11 is pressed against the outer surface of the battery container 101. An O-ring 13 that is elastically deformed and a substantially rod-shaped needle member 12 that is provided in the lead-out hole 11a so as to be movable in the front-rear direction and in which a perforated portion 12a is formed are provided. . Therefore, a hole is accurately formed in the battery container 101 of the lithium secondary battery 100 in which the internal pressure is high, and the gas and the electrolytic solution are extracted from the hole, and the extracted gas and the electrolytic solution are supplied to the outside of the perforation probe 10. Without leaking out, almost the entire amount can be introduced into the perforation probe 10, led out to the second opening, and sent to the processing means or the like. Thereby, the used lithium secondary battery 100 can be processed easily and accurately without adversely affecting the surrounding environment.

  The probe body 11 is formed to be bent or bent in the middle so that the lead-out hole 11a penetrates to the second opening 11h2 on the side of the probe body 11, and branches from the middle of the lead-out hole 11a. Thus, the needle member 12 is inserted through the third opening 11h3 on the rear end side of the probe body 11 so that the axis O1 connecting the first opening 11h1 and the third opening 11h3 is substantially straight. An insertion hole 11b is formed, and one or both of the inner peripheral side of the insertion hole 11b and the outer peripheral side of the needle member 12 is provided with a sealing means for sealing a gap between the insertion hole 11b and the needle member 12. ing. Therefore, the needle member 12 can be inserted and moved back and forth from the rear end side of the piercing probe 10, and the battery container 101 can be easily pierced by operating the needle member 12 from the outside of the piercing probe 10. Can do. At this time, the gap between the insertion hole 11b and the needle member 12 is sealed by the sealing means, so that the gas and electrolyte extracted from the hole can be leaked from the gap to the outside of the perforation probe 10. It can be led out to the second opening. Thereby, the operativity of the perforation probe 10 can be improved more.

  Further, the perforated portion 12a is formed in a substantially wedge shape capable of further expanding the diameter of the hole once perforated so that the hole diameter can be set in at least two stages. Therefore, first, a small hole such as a pinhole is drilled, and gas is extracted while minimizing the influence of internal pressure. When the internal pressure of the battery container 101 decreases, the small hole is then expanded. As a large-diameter hole, the electrolyte can be easily extracted. Thereby, the gas and electrolyte solution inside the battery container 101 can be accurately extracted to the outside of the battery container 101 in a short time, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

  Furthermore, the sealing means is configured by screwing a male screw 12s formed on the outer peripheral side of the needle member 12 and a female screw 11s formed on the inner peripheral side of the insertion hole 11b. Therefore, the apparatus configuration can be simplified, the gap between the needle member 12 and the insertion hole can be accurately sealed, and leakage of gas and electrolyte to the outside can be accurately prevented. Further, since the screw structure is adopted, the needle member 12 can be accurately advanced only by operating the rotary knob 12r and rotating the needle member 12 in one direction, and fine adjustment of the size of the hole diameter and the like is also possible. This can be easily performed, and the accuracy of perforation can be further improved, so that the battery container 101 can be perforated accurately and easily in a short time.

  Further, in the crushing drill unit 20A according to the present embodiment, a drill 21 that crushes an electrode by being inserted into the battery container 101 through an opening formed in the battery container 101 and rotated, and a motor M are provided. I am trying to do it. For this reason, even an electrode that has expanded due to long-term use and has been extremely difficult to be taken out from the battery container 101 can be crushed and separated finely in the battery container 101 and easily and accurately from the battery container 101. It can be taken out.

  Furthermore, the drill 21 is a drill having a configuration in which a groove 21b is formed in a spiral shape on the outer peripheral side of a substantially cylindrical drill body 21a, that is, a drill having a configuration similar to a general woodworking drill. Therefore, the battery can be easily inserted into the battery container, and the electrodes can be easily bited into the spiral groove portion so that more electrodes can be crushed in a short time, thereby improving the crushing efficiency. be able to.

Further, in the crushing drilling unit 20B according to this embodiment, the movable plurality of drill 21 in the lateral direction, and the motor M ₂ to secure the function as the horizontal movement mechanism, a cover 22 for covering the opening, but To be provided. Therefore, while the drill unit 20B is fixed at a predetermined position near the opening, only the rotary crushing member can be moved to crush the electrode in the battery container in a wider range. And since the cover which covers the opening part of the battery container 101 is provided, it is prevented appropriately that the electrode crushed with the drill 21 is scattered, and while maintaining a favorable working environment, work stability is improved. Can be improved.

  Furthermore, in the processing method of the used lithium secondary battery 100 according to the present embodiment, the above-described perforation probe 10 is pressed and fixed to the outer surface of the battery container 101 using a fixing means, and a small-diameter hole, that is, A pinhole or the like is drilled, and the gas in the battery container 101 is extracted from the pinhole or the like. Next, the pinhole or the like is enlarged to form a large-diameter hole. The electrolyte is extracted, and then the electrode is extracted from the battery container 101. Therefore, gas can be extracted first while minimizing the influence of the internal pressure of the battery container 101, and when the internal pressure of the battery container 101 decreases, the diameter can be increased and a large amount of electrolyte can be extracted in a shorter time. Thereby, the explosive spraying or breakage of the contents of the battery container 101 can be accurately suppressed, the work environment can be maintained well, and the work stability can be improved. That is, processing can be performed easily and accurately under normal working conditions.

  Further, each of the pair of perforation probes 10 and 10 is fixed in pressure contact with each other on the outer surface of the battery container 101 using a fixing means, and a small-diameter hole such as a pinhole is formed in the battery container 101. The gas in the battery container 101 is extracted from the pinhole and the like, and then the pinhole and the like are expanded to form a large diameter hole, and the electrolyte in the battery container 101 is extracted from the large diameter hole and a pair of A cleaning liquid is circulated from one of the perforation probes 10 to the other to clean the inside of the battery container 101, and then the electrode is taken out from the battery container 101. Therefore, it is possible to complete the cleaning of the electrode before removing the electrode from the battery container 101, and it is not necessary to perform a cleaning process after removing the electrode. Appropriate processing such as processing can be performed. For this reason, the time required for each process such as the dismantling process and the sorting process can be shortened, and the processing efficiency can be further increased.

  Further, after the cleaning liquid is circulated from one of the pair of perforation probes 10 to the other to clean the inside of the battery container 101, the battery is further purged or circulated with a drying gas such as nitrogen, argon or dry air. The inside of the container 101 is dried, and then the electrode is taken out from the battery container 101. For this reason, both the cleaning and drying of the electrode can be completed before the electrode is taken out from the battery container 101, and it is possible to collect and sort more quickly and to perform an appropriate process such as a disposal process or a reuse process. . For this reason, the time required for each process such as the dismantling process and the sorting process can be further shortened, and the processing efficiency can be further increased.

  Furthermore, after extracting the gas and the electrolyte from the battery container 101, a part of the battery container 101 is excised to form an opening, and the crushing drill units 20A and 20B are inserted into the battery container 101 from the opening. The electrode is taken out from the battery container 101 by rotating the drill 21 to crush the electrode. For this reason, even an electrode that has expanded due to long-term use and has been extremely difficult to be taken out from the battery container 101 can be crushed and separated finely in the battery container 101 and easily and accurately from the battery container 101. Thus, the processing efficiency can be further increased.

In the above embodiment, a lithium secondary battery has been described as an example of a used secondary battery. However, the present invention is not limited to application to such a lithium secondary battery. Even a secondary battery can be applied.
Further, the sealing means for sealing the gap between the probe main body and the needle member in the perforated probe has a screw structure with male and female screws, but the sealing means is not limited to this. For example, a sealing means made of an elastic body or the like may be provided on one or both of the inner peripheral side of the insertion hole and the outer peripheral side of the needle member.
Furthermore, as an example of the rotary crushing member in the crushing drill unit, a drill having the same configuration as the woodworking drill is used. However, a drill having other configurations as long as it can crush the electrode with high efficiency Alternatively, a rotary cutter, a rotary saw, or the like may be used.

  As described above, according to the internal crushing device for a used secondary battery and the processing method of a used secondary battery according to the present invention, the configuration as described above is adopted. Each process such as the dismantling process and the sorting process can be easily and accurately performed under normal working conditions, and the material can be easily reused or discarded.

It is the fragmentary sectional view in the planar view which shows the punch probe as one Embodiment of the punching apparatus for used secondary batteries which concerns on this invention. It is a top view which shows the state which fixed the perforation probe shown in FIG. 1 to the lithium secondary battery. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which a pair of perforation probes shown in FIG. 1 is fixed to a lithium secondary battery. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the lithium secondary battery after gas and electrolyte solution were extracted. (A) is a schematic perspective view which shows the state which cut | disconnected some battery containers of the lithium secondary battery shown in FIG. 4, (b) extracted the electrode from the battery container shown to (a). It is a schematic perspective view which shows a state. (A) is a schematic perspective view which shows the state before further cutting | disconnecting the battery container of the lithium secondary battery shown to Fig.5 (a), (b) cut | disconnecting the battery container shown to (a). It is a schematic perspective view which shows the state which extracted the electrode after doing. It is a schematic perspective view which shows an example of the crushing drill unit as one Embodiment of the internal crushing apparatus for used secondary batteries which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the other example of the crushing drill unit as one Embodiment of the internal crushing apparatus for used secondary batteries which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 Drilling probe (drilling device)
11 Probe body (device body)
11a Lead-out hole 11b Insertion hole 11h1 1st opening part 11h2 2nd opening part 11h3 3rd opening part 11s Female thread 12 Needle member (moving member)
12a Perforated part 12s Male thread 13 O-ring (annular elastic body)
20A, 20B Crushing drill unit (internal crushing device)
21 Drill (Rotary crushing member)
21a Drill body 21b Groove part 22 Cover 100 Lithium secondary battery (used secondary battery)
101 Battery container 102 Positive electrode terminal (electrode terminal)
103 Negative terminal (electrode terminal)
104 Positive electrode (electrode)
105 Negative electrode (electrode)
M, M ₂ motor (actuator, lateral movement mechanism)
H Hole O1, O2 Axis X Bending point

Claims (4)

An internal crushing device used for crushing an electrode disposed in a battery container of a used secondary battery,
A rotary crushing member that crushes the electrode by being inserted into the battery container from the container opening formed in the battery container and rotated;
An internal crushing apparatus, comprising: an actuator that rotationally drives the rotary crushing member.   The internal crushing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotary crushing member is a drill in which a groove is formed in a spiral shape on an outer peripheral side of a cylindrical drill body. A lateral movement mechanism capable of moving the rotary crushing member along the direction of expansion of the opening;
The internal crushing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cover that covers the opening.   After extracting the said gas and / or electrolyte solution from the said battery container, part of the said battery container is excised and a container opening part is formed, The internal crushing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-3 Use in which the electrode is taken out from the battery container by being inserted into the battery container from a container opening, and rotating the rotary crushing member to crush the electrode in the battery container. Of a used secondary battery.

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