JP2003068259A - Battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery, of which the component parts are reduced, the mechanical strength is improved, and the shape is made steady. SOLUTION: A cell battery 1 is cased in the battery case 2 of the battery 6, and power is output from an electrode terminal 4. The battery case 2 is provided with connection flanges 7a, 7b for coupling the battery to the adjacent battery, and a fixing flange 8 for fitting the cell battery 1 on a base plate and the like, the flanges being provided as elements performing mechanical functions. In this manner, the battery is integrated into a mechanical structure, so that a lighter battery module is provided and the mechanical contacts of the battery module can be made fewer than that of a conventional battery module. Thus, the highly reliable battery module independent of the ability of an operator can be provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery, and more particularly to a battery in which at least one cell type battery is housed in a case and the electric power is output from an external terminal provided in the case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an artificial satellite that orbits the earth usually receives electric power from a power supply device called a solar array paddle having a solar power generation system. However, the artificial satellite is located in a shadow of the earth. Then, since it is not possible to obtain electric power from the solar cell paddle, a backup battery is provided as a power supply source for the artificial satellite in the meantime.

Storage batteries such as Ni-Cd (nickel-cadmium) batteries and NiMH (nickel-hydrogen) batteries have been used as backup batteries for artificial satellites. Since a predetermined voltage / current is required to supply electric power to the artificial satellite, a plurality of the above-mentioned storage batteries are connected in series or in parallel to form a battery module.

In addition, these storage batteries include a material for the positive electrode and the negative electrode, which are substances that become the element of electromotive reaction, a separator for insulating between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, and an electrolytic solution for advancing an electrochemical reaction. Is directly inserted into a metallic battery case. Normally, the battery case of a storage battery has a rectangular parallelepiped with no irregularities and does not have a mounting structure.
A storage battery cannot be fixedly installed alone, and a jig for fixed connection is required when combining a plurality of storage batteries.

On the other hand, since the battery case of the storage battery is also one of the materials constituting the battery, it is usually charged to the negative electrode, and when these storage batteries are brought into contact with each other or the storage battery and another metal object, the space between the storage battery and the battery case is lost. There is a possibility that a minute current will flow due to the potential difference that occurs in the storage battery, a voltage drop phenomenon will occur in the storage battery, and the performance of the storage battery will deteriorate. Therefore, when constructing the battery module, it is necessary to perform processing such as covering the surface of each storage battery with an insulator.

The structure of the conventional battery module is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, 12 is a storage battery, 13 is an insulating material, 1
4 is an end plate, 15 is a tension bolt, and 16 is a base plate.
Are configured.

Next, a method of constructing the conventional battery module 17 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. Figure 5
In, a battery module 1 combining a plurality of storage batteries
7, the surface of the storage battery 12 is first covered with an insulating material 13 such as an adhesive, a film, a sheet, or a tape, and all the storage batteries 12 are restrained by metal end plates 14 from both sides, and further the bottom surface is covered. In order to improve the flatness, the base plate 16 is pressure-fixed.

Then, in order to provide the battery module 17 with rigidity, the end plates 14 are tightened and fixed by tension bolts 15 so that a predetermined surface pressure is applied from both sides. Thus, the conventional battery module 1
In the production of No. 7, all these works depend on the skill of the worker.

[0009]

However, when constructing the above-mentioned conventional battery module, it is necessary to cover the surface of each storage battery 12 with an insulating material 13 such as an adhesive, tape, sheet or film. There is an individual difference in the amount used for each storage battery.

Further, when all storage batteries are pressure-fixed to the base plate 16 by the metal end plates 14 from both sides or when tightened with the tension bolts 15 from both sides of the end plates 14, it is not possible to unify the tightening torque values. Although it is possible to hold down the storage battery in advance and tighten it, depending on how to hold it down, it depends on the skill of the operator whether or not uniform force is applied to the pressure surface, and the characteristic difference is quantitatively judged. Is difficult.

As described above, in the production of the conventional battery module, the number of parts constituting the battery module is large and it depends largely on the skill of the operator. Therefore, there is a problem that the structural strength and the structural weight vary widely.

Further, since many of the materials composing such a battery module need to be individually manufactured for each desired battery capacity, standardization and sharing cannot be achieved. That is, there is a problem in that a new mold is created each time the number of storage batteries or the size of the storage battery changes, and resistance evaluation of the structural strength of each component constituting the battery module is required, resulting in an increase in cost.

Further, in constructing the battery module, since a plurality of storage batteries are collectively and collectively fixed, when one storage battery fails and is to be replaced,
It is necessary to remove all the pressure-fixed storage batteries, and stress is applied to the storage batteries when the battery module is constructed again. Thus, there is a problem that it is difficult to replace or replace a defective storage battery.

On the other hand, in order to connect a plurality of storage batteries, a method of providing a through hole in each storage battery and fixing all of them with screws using a connecting member is also conceivable. However,
At the contact point between the through hole and the screw, a gap is created on the surface of the through hole (flat surface) and the surface of the screw (mountain valley), and when used in an environment where high level vibration such as artificial satellite is applied, this gap is very small. Vibration may occur and resonate with other mechanical fastening parts.

A method of tapping all the through holes (providing peaks and valleys) to use screws is also conceivable, but the battery case usually has a plate thickness of about several millimeters, and the through holes provided with screws are Even if it is provided, assuming a high vibration level and a large number of connections, it is necessary to make the shaft of the screw considerably thicker in order to completely suppress the above vibrations, resulting in an increase in weight due to the structure and a light weight. Cannot be realized.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art, and its object is to provide a battery to be used by being mounted on a spacecraft such as an artificial satellite or a rocket or an aircraft. The object of the present invention is to provide a battery which has a reduced number of constituent parts, improved mechanical strength, and stabilized shape.

[0017]

According to the present invention, at least one cell-type battery is housed in a case, and its power is output from an external terminal provided in the case, which is adjacent to a battery. A battery is obtained, characterized in that it comprises a connecting flange provided on the case for the connection.

Further, in the case, the connection flanges are provided at different positions for two different batteries connected adjacently on both sides. The connection flange includes a connection member insertion hole for inserting a connection member, and the connection member is inserted into the connection member insertion hole to connect with the adjacent battery. Further, it is characterized by further including a fixing flange for fixing the case at a predetermined position.

The operation of the present invention will be described. When mounting a storage battery to be mounted as a backup battery for artificial satellites, etc., as a battery module on multiple base plates, etc., assemble it to the connection flange and base plate etc. for connecting to the batteries that are arranged adjacent to the battery case itself. And a fixed flange for the purpose of providing a mechanical function. As a result, the battery and the mechanical structure are integrated, the weight of the battery module is reduced, and the number of mechanical connection points can be reduced as compared with the conventional one, so that the reliability independent of the skill of the operator can be obtained. It is possible to provide a high battery module.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a battery according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1A, 1 is a cell type battery, 2 is a battery case,
3 is a tab. Further, in FIG. 1B, 4 is an electrode terminal and 5 is a lid. Then, in FIG.
a and 7b are connection flanges, 8 is a fixed flange, and
Is a battery in the present invention.

Next, the structure of the battery 6 of the present invention will be briefly described. In FIG. 1A, a cell-type battery 1 in which the outer surface of the battery is non-conductive (coated with an insulating material)
Are connected in series or in parallel according to the capacity. Here, as the cell-type battery 1 to be inserted into the battery case 2, a Li-ion (lithium-ion) battery or a polymer battery, which has been in rapid demand with the spread of portable devices in recent years, is used. The exterior of these batteries is the conventional Ni
It is not a metal case in a -Cd (nickel-cadmium) battery or a NiMH (nickel-hydrogen) battery, but is molded with a laminate film or a resin.

When the cell type battery 1 whose surface has conductivity is used, it is necessary to cover the surface with an insulating tape or an adhesive. It is an object of the present invention to enable these cell batteries to be used even in a severe environment and to reduce the structural weight.

The cell type battery 1 is inserted into the battery case 2, and as shown in FIG. 1B, a tab 3 for taking out an output from the cell type battery 1 and an electrode for outputting the electric power of the battery from the battery case 2 to the outside. The lid 5 with the terminal 4 is connected. Note that FIG.
In (b), the battery case 2 is seen through and the state of the cell-type battery 1 in the battery case 2 is made clear. Cell type battery 1 can be fastened with tape or metal band,
It is molded with an adhesive in the battery case 2 or a void is filled with a non-woven fabric or foam (sponge). This allows the battery case 2 to be used even in an environment where strong vibrations and shocks are applied.
It is possible to prevent the cell-type battery 1 from being biased inside, and from being broken or curved due to stress concentrated on a part thereof.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1C, the battery case 2 and the lid 5 are sealed by welding or caulked to obtain a battery 6. The battery 6 is provided with a connecting flange 7 for connecting with a plurality of batteries arranged adjacent to each other and a fixing flange 8 for fixing to a base plate or the like.

In this embodiment, regarding the connection flange 7, when a plurality of batteries are connected to form a battery module, the batteries are connected so that the constituent members of the battery module do not change depending on the number. In such a case, basically two adjacent batteries are connected. Further, the fixed flange 8 can be attached to the battery 6 alone in order to reduce the number of parts when the battery module is constructed. As a result, the final form of the battery module and the number of parts are constant regardless of the number of batteries, and the maintainability is excellent.

Next, in the embodiment of the present invention, the case where adjacent batteries are connected will be described. FIG. 2 shows two adjacent batteries 6A, 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
It is a side view which shows the structure at the time of connecting B. In FIG. 2, the electrode terminal 4 and the fixing flange 8 are omitted,
The connection flange is schematically shown. Battery 6A
As shown in Fig. 2 (a), the connection flange 7 is attached to the battery case 2 of
a and 7b are provided, and the batteries 6 adjacent to each other as shown in FIG.
The connection flanges 7a and 7c of A and 6B are connected so as to face each other. In the embodiment of the present invention, the connection flanges 7a to 7d are provided on the long side surfaces of the batteries 6A and 6B.

When connecting the two batteries 6A and 6B, if all the connection flanges 7a to 7d are at the same height, the distance between the connection flanges of the respective batteries may become narrow depending on the size (width) of the batteries. The connection flanges 7a, 7b (or the connection flanges 7a, 7b (or,
It is assumed that the heights of 7c and 7d) are provided at alternate positions.

Next, the case where the connecting flanges are connected by a connecting member will be described. FIG. 3 shows the connecting flanges 7a, 7
It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the structure at the time of connecting c with a connecting member. In FIG. 3, 9 is a through bolt and 10
Is the receiving bolt. In FIG. 3, the connection flange 7
Both a and 7c have a connection member insertion hole 18 for connecting the adjacent batteries 6, into which the connection member is inserted.

Since the internal pressure of the battery 6 fluctuates (expansion and contraction of the cell-type battery 1 due to charging and discharging), looseness and small vibration (rattle) when a large vibration is applied are generated. The insertion hole 18 does not have a screw (mountain valley),
The through bolt 9 passing through the connecting member insertion hole 18 is a shear bolt (plain bolt) type, and a straight type having a grooveless shaft is used. Further, the diameter difference between the connecting member insertion hole 18 and the through bolt 9 is made as small as possible to prevent the decrease in rigidity due to a minute gap.

On the other side of the through bolt 9, a receiving side bolt 10 which plays the role of a nut is inserted into the through bolt 9 and tightened. With the above structure, even when strong vibration or impact is applied, it is possible to eliminate minute vibrations in the fastening portion and avoid twisting and stress concentration.

In this way, a plurality of batteries are connected,
FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the battery module 11 configured. When connecting a plurality of batteries 6, the connection flanges 7 having the same height are alternately arranged so as to be connected. When the battery module 11 is fixedly installed at a predetermined place such as a base plate, it is fixed with a screw using the fixing flange 8.

In the above embodiment, the battery 6 is used.
Although a case where a plurality of batteries 6 are connected and connected in an upright state has been described, the present invention is not limited to this and, for example, when a plurality of batteries 6 are connected and connected in a horizontal state. Obviously, is also applicable.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, since it is not necessary to cover the surface of the battery with an insulating material such as an adhesive, the individual battery for each battery due to the displacement of the battery fixing position when the adhesive is cured. There is no difference. This is because all the battery connections are mechanically performed, and uncertain factors such as the skill of the worker and the number of used members are eliminated. As a result, it is possible to improve the accuracy in fixing the battery position, standardize the component parts, reduce the cost, reduce the size and weight, and improve the productivity.

Further, according to the present invention, when a plurality of batteries are connected to form a battery module, the electrodes do not appear on the surface of the battery case. In addition to avoiding the possibility of deterioration, when constructing a battery module, there is an effect that since two batteries adjacent to each other are basically connected, replacement work at the time of failure can be easily performed.

In addition, according to the present invention, when connecting a plurality of adjacent batteries, a through bolt having a diameter as close as possible to the connecting member insertion hole and having no screw (having no peaks and valleys) like a shear bolt. Since it uses, the vibration generated in the minute space can be suppressed, and the rigidity and the vibration resistance of the battery module can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a battery according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a configuration in the case where adjacent batteries are connected in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an essential part showing the configuration in the case where the connection flanges are connected by a connection member in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the battery module according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a configuration of a conventional battery module.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-cell battery 2 battery case 3 tabs 4 electrode terminals 5 lid 6,6A, 6B batteries 7,7a-7d Connection flange 8 fixed flange 9 Through bolt 10 Receiving side bolt 11 Battery module 18 Connection member insertion hole

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A battery in which at least one cell-type battery is housed in a case and the power of which is output from an external terminal provided in the case, the battery being provided in the case for connection with an adjacent battery. Battery including a connection flange provided with the battery. 2. The case, wherein the connection flange is provided at a different position for two different batteries that are adjacently connected to each other on both sides. Batteries. 3. The connection flange includes a connection member insertion hole for inserting a connection member, and the connection member is inserted into the connection member insertion hole to connect with the adjacent battery. The battery according to item 1 or 2. 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing flange for fixing the case at a predetermined position.
The battery according to any one of 1 to 3.