JP4562458B2 - Pack battery and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery pack provided with a connection terminal, and more particularly, to a technique for realizing both cost reduction and prevention of erroneous assembly.

In recent years, a battery pack in which a secondary battery or the like is packaged has been widely used, and is also used for a mobile phone, a digital camera, or the like.
The battery packs used in these devices are originally small in size and have no excess space, so if the battery capacity and volume energy density are the same, both will approach the same volume and the external dimensions will be the same. It is easy to become the value of.

In general, since battery packs are produced in various small quantities, there is a strong demand for cost reduction, and it is desirable to reduce the manufacturing cost of battery packs by sharing parts as much as possible.
Therefore, it is convenient for sharing the parts that the outer dimensions of the battery pack are the same as described above.
Normally, this battery pack is provided with a connector for connecting to an external terminal provided on the device side. Therefore, in order to promote the use of a common part, for example, as shown in FIG. It is also conceivable to apply a connector 230 that can accept and connect external terminals over a wide range to a battery pack. (For example, see Patent Document 1)
The connector 230 includes a connection terminal 232 that can receive the external terminal 40 from a range of 90 degrees sandwiched between the z-axis and the y-axis, and a cover portion in which a portion into which the external terminal 40 is inserted is cut out. 231 is covered.

Thus, in various battery packs having the same outer dimensions, cost reduction is realized by using shared parts.
JP 2002-134196 A

However, if such parts are shared between different types of battery packs, the characteristics of distinguishing each specification will be poor, and when the user replaces the battery in the market, a battery pack with a different specification will be installed by mistake. So-called misassembly may occur.
If incorrect assembly is performed in this way, the following inconvenience occurs.
For the battery pack, the type of active material, the type of battery, etc. are selected so that the required performance can be fully demonstrated according to the charge / discharge status and load on the equipment to be installed. Some of them require a protection circuit and some do not.

  For example, some lithium-ion batteries require a protection circuit that controls charge / discharge, but the addition of a specific substance to the active material increases safety, and batteries that do not require a protection circuit have been developed. Yes. In addition, a battery with a higher charging voltage and increased battery capacity has been developed. Therefore, even with lithium ion batteries having the same external shape, the characteristics may differ depending on differences in the incorporated active material, etc., and the specifications are determined according to these characteristics.

For this reason, if the above-described erroneous assembly occurs, not only the original performance of the battery pack cannot be exhibited, but also the life of the battery may be shortened, and further, it may cause a failure.
In particular, when the connector described in Patent Document 1 is applied to a battery pack, the degree of freedom in the receiving direction of the external terminals is increased, and the possibility of erroneous assembly is increased.
Thus, considering the problem of misassembly, it is desirable that the battery pack has a different shape for each specification in order to avoid confusion with other battery packs having different specifications.

As described above, there is a conflicting demand for the outer shape of the battery pack, and there is a problem that it is difficult to achieve both cost reduction and prevention of misassembly under the condition of production in various small quantities.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a battery pack and a method of manufacturing the battery pack capable of achieving both cost reduction and prevention of erroneous assembly even when a large number of battery packs are produced. The purpose is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, a battery pack according to the present invention is a battery pack that is used by being connected to an external terminal, the connection terminal capable of receiving and connecting the external terminal from a plurality of directions, And a cover portion that covers a part of the connection terminal and restricts the connection in only one of the plurality of receiving directions.
In order to achieve the above object, the battery pack manufacturing method according to the present invention is used in connection with an external terminal, and includes a first specification and a second specification having a main body having a common or similar structure. In addition to the first disposing step of disposing a connection terminal on the main body that can accept and connect the external terminal from a plurality of directions, the battery pack of the first specification is manufactured. A first cover portion that restricts the connection to only the first direction corresponding to the first specification among the plurality of receiving directions is disposed on the main body portion, and the second specification is provided. When the battery pack is manufactured, a second cover portion that restricts the connection only in the second direction corresponding to the second specification among the plurality of receiving directions is provided in the main body portion. It has a disposition step. To.

The battery pack of the present invention is a battery pack used by connecting to an external terminal, the connection terminal capable of receiving and connecting the external terminal from a plurality of directions, a part of the connection terminal, And a cover portion that restricts the connection in only one of the receiving directions.
Usually, since the position of the external terminal connected to the connection terminal provided in the battery pack differs for each device containing the battery pack, there are a plurality of external terminal receiving directions depending on each device.

With the above configuration, the connection terminal can be connected by receiving an external terminal from a plurality of directions, and thus has high versatility.
In addition, the cover unit restricts connection in any one of the plurality of receiving directions.
For this reason, by making the receiving direction of the external terminal correspond to the specification of the battery pack, the occurrence of misassembly is suppressed, and the receiving direction can be changed by changing only the cover part while using the same connection terminal. Therefore, the connection terminals are easily shared for the specifications of the plurality of battery packs, and the cost is easily reduced.

That is, it is possible to carry out both cost reduction and prevention of erroneous assembly.
Moreover, the said cover part is good also as having an opening part from which the said connection terminal is partially exposed.
Normally, the cover that covers the connection terminals is made of resin, which is an insulating material, and it is easy to create another pattern product that differs only in the position of the opening of the resin molded product in terms of resin molding technology. Therefore, further cost reduction can be achieved.
Further, the connection terminal has a pair of constricted portions facing each other close to each other and a support portion for elastically supporting the constricted portion, and the external terminal is connected to the pair of constricted portions at the time of the connection. It is desirable that the external terminal is clamped by the restoring force of the support portion generated when the narrow portion is pushed outward by being inserted into the gap.

Thereby, the connection degree of an external terminal and a connection terminal is raised.
In addition, the connection terminal is a member having a plurality of plane portions, and in the cover portion, the opening is disposed at a position where only one plane portion of the plurality of plane portions is exposed. It may be.
The formation of the plurality of flat portions can be easily realized by, for example, bending a flat plate in a multifaceted manner, so that the structure of the connection terminal is simplified and the cost can be reduced more easily.

In addition, it is possible to secure three planes by bending the flat plate into a U-shape, and it is possible to secure more than three planes by bending more locations, so that the external terminal It is possible to set many acceptance directions.
The plurality of receiving directions all belong to substantially the same plane and pass through the gap between the pair of constricted portions, and each of the plurality of receiving directions is substantially orthogonal to the other direction or It may be substantially contradictory.

As a result, when a plurality of receiving directions are selectively set, the directions of the selected receiving directions are substantially orthogonal or substantially contradicted, that is, the receiving directions are greatly different, so that they are not easily misassembled.
The method for manufacturing a battery pack according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing each of the battery packs of the first specification and the second specification, which are used by being connected to an external terminal, and each has a body portion having a common or similar structure. In addition to the first disposing step of disposing the connection terminal capable of receiving and connecting the external terminal from a plurality of directions on the main body portion, when manufacturing the battery pack of the first specification, In the case of manufacturing the battery pack of the second specification by disposing the first cover portion that restricts the connection only in the first direction corresponding to the first specification among the receiving directions in the main body portion, It has a 2nd arrangement | positioning step which arrange | positions the 2nd cover part which restrict | limits the said connection only to the 2nd direction corresponding to the said 2nd specification among these receiving directions in the said main-body part. .

Thereby, since the connection terminal can accept and connect an external terminal from a plurality of directions, the connection terminal itself is highly versatile, so that it is easy to be shared and the cost is easily reduced.
Further, when manufacturing a battery pack of the first specification, the cover portion is provided with the first cover portion that restricts the connection only in the first direction corresponding to the first specification on the main body portion, When manufacturing a battery pack of the second specification, a second cover portion that restricts the connection only in the second direction corresponding to the second specification among the plurality of receiving directions is disposed in the main body portion. Therefore, since the receiving direction of the external terminal is different for each specification, erroneous assembly can be prevented.

  That is, it is possible to achieve both cost reduction and prevention of erroneous assembly.

(Embodiment)
1. Configuration FIGS. 1A and 1B are external views of the battery pack 10 and the battery pack 20 in the embodiment of the present invention, respectively.
The battery pack 10 includes a lithium secondary battery, and is attached so that the cover portion 12 covers one end surface of the substantially rectangular tube-shaped main body portion 11 as shown in FIGS. 1 (c) and 1 (d). Become.

When the battery pack 10 is joined to the external terminal 40, the external terminal 40 can be received only from the y-axis direction in the figure.
Further, the battery pack 20 includes a lithium secondary battery in the same manner as the battery pack 10, and, as shown in FIGS. 1C and 1E, one end face of the substantially rectangular tube-shaped main body 21 is a cover portion. 22 is attached so as to cover.

When the battery pack 20 is joined to the external terminal 40, the external battery 40 can be received only from the Z-axis direction in the figure.
As shown in FIG. 1C, the main body 11 of the battery pack 10 and the main body 21 of the battery pack 20 each contain a cell A and a cell B having different types of active materials filled in the electrode body. Since it is the same structure except for, the main-body part 11 and the main-body part 21 do not have a shape difference.

Furthermore, the cover portion 12 of the battery pack 10 and the cover portion 22 of the battery pack 20 are different from each other in the arrangement positions of the three openings 12a and 12b as shown in FIGS. There is no difference in shape.
More specifically, in the cover part 12, three openings 12a are provided on one surface parallel to the xz plane of the drawing, and in the cover part 22, three openings 22a are shown in the drawing xy. It is provided on one surface parallel to the plane.

From these openings, three connection terminals (described later) provided in the main body 11 and the main body 21 are exposed.
Here, the main body portions 11 and 21 will be specifically described.
The main body 11 includes a power generation element (not shown) impregnated with a non-aqueous electrolyte, that is, an electrode body (not shown) or the like housed in a bottomed rectangular tube-shaped outer can and a sealing plate (not shown). On the end face of the sealed battery part 13, there is a protective circuit assembly part 14, which is on a power supply path connecting the power generating element of the battery part 13 and a connection terminal to be described later, and is composed of a chip-mounted substrate, an insulating sheet or the like. Further, a resin connection terminal holder 31 is disposed on the protection circuit assembly portion 14, and three connection terminals 32 are disposed on the connection terminal holder 31.

The main body portion 21 has the same configuration as the main body portion 11 except that the battery portion 23 in which an active material different from that of the battery portion 13 is filled in the electrode body is replaced with the battery portion 13.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the connection terminal 32 has a complicated bent shape.
More specifically, the connection terminal 32 is obtained by pressing and bending a metal plate that is excellent in conductivity and elasticity, and the both ends of the band-shaped sandwiching portion 101 bent in a U-shape are opposed to each other. In addition, there is a pair of constricted portions 103 each convex in the opposing direction, and a belt-like support portion 102 is extended in a J-shape from each of the sandwiching portions 101 in the vicinity of the constricted portion 103, and the support portions 102 There is a fixed portion 104 formed by bending the support portion 102 outward at approximately 90 degrees.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the fixing portion 104 is fixed to the connection terminal holder 31 by fitting in the groove portion 111 provided in the connection terminal holder 31.
The connection terminal holder 31 is fixed to the protection circuit assembly portion 14, and the bottom portion 105 of the holding portion 101 of the connection terminal 32 fixed to the connection terminal holder 31 is connected to the wiring on the protection circuit assembly portion 14. Soldered to the pattern.

In the main body 11 and the main body 21, three connection terminals 32 are arranged at the same position of the main body 11 and the main body 21, that is, at the end of the main body.
These three connection terminals 32 are arranged at equal intervals in an area offset to one side in the x-axis direction of FIG. 2, that is, to the left side of one end face of the main body 11 and the main body 21 in FIG. Has been.

Of the three connection terminals 32, the connection terminal sandwiched between them is a connection terminal for signal input / output indicating temperature or the like, and the left side of the connection terminal, that is, the end surfaces of the main body portions 11 and 21. What is located in the vicinity of the short side portion at the outer edge is a positive electrode terminal, and the remaining connection terminals are negative electrode terminals.
With the above configuration, the connection terminal 32 can accept the external terminal 40 from a direction in the range of 90 degrees sandwiched between the y-axis and the z-axis, and when the external terminal 40 is accepted from this direction, the external terminal 40 is By entering the gap between the pair of constricted portions 103 and pushing the constricted portion 103 outward, the restoring force due to the elasticity acts and the external terminal 40 is clamped.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view around the connection terminal 32 in the battery pack 10 shown in FIG.
More specifically, FIG. 3 schematically shows a cross section cut by the zy plane passing through the central portion of the connection terminal 32, and the main body portion 11 is an opening of the outer can 33 that houses the power generation element body 15. The protective circuit assembly 14 is disposed on the outer surface of the sealing plate 34, and the connection terminal holder 31 and the three connection terminals 32 are joined to the protection circuit assembly portion 14.

The cover portion 12 is crowned at the end of the outer can 33 on the side where the connection terminal holder 31 is present, and in the crowned state, a part of the peripheral surface of the outer can 33 and the cover portion 12 overlap each other. ing.
A claw portion 12 b is provided on the inner surface of the cover portion 12 where the overlap occurs, and the claw portion 12 b is a recess provided at a position corresponding to the claw portion 12 b on the peripheral surface of the outer can 33. 33a is fitted.

By this fitting, the main body portion 11 and the cover portion 12 are fixed.
The fixing of the main body portion 21 and the cover portion 22 is the same as in the case of the main body portion 11 and the cover portion 12.
In addition, after covering with the heat-shrinkable annular sheet 16 so as to straddle the peripheral surface of the outer can 33 and the peripheral surface of the cover portion 12 in order to more firmly fix the cover portion 12 and the main body portion 11. It may be heat shrunk.

As described above, by configuring the battery pack 10 and the battery pack 20, the receiving directions of the external terminals can be made different while the configurations of the battery pack 10 and the battery pack 20 are kept substantially the same.
That is, the difference in configuration between the main body part 11 and the main body part 21 is only the difference in the type of active material filled in the electrode body, and therefore, in manufacturing the main body part 11 and the main body part 21, substantially the same manufacturing equipment. Therefore, the cost can be reduced.

Further, the battery pack 10 and the battery pack 20 are different from each other in the receiving direction of the external terminals, and thus are not easily assembled.
By creating various types of battery packs based on the design concept described above, it is possible to provide a battery pack that can achieve both cost reduction and prevention of erroneous assembly even when a large amount is produced in small quantities.
In the present embodiment, the protection circuit assembly unit 14 is shared by the battery pack 10 and the battery pack 20, but the present invention is not limited to this, and component specifications may be different.

In that case, it is desirable that the protection circuit assembly parts of the battery pack 10 and the battery pack 20 are made as different in shape as possible so that they can be produced by the same manufacturing equipment.
In addition, the battery pack 10 and the battery pack 20 both include lithium secondary batteries. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, one is a lithium secondary battery and the other is a hydrogen nickel secondary battery. There may be.
(Modification)
In this embodiment, the connection terminal sandwiches the external terminal. However, this is only an example, and the connection terminal is not limited to such a structure.

For example, like the connection terminal 132 shown in FIG. 4, it may be a plate-like member having two planes that are conductive and bent in an L shape. In this case, the external terminal 140 is connected to the connection terminal 132. At this time, a configuration in which the contact state with the connection terminal 132 can be maintained is required.
In FIG. 4, the external terminal 140 projects a contact point with the connection terminal 132, and an elastic metal plate is formed in an L shape so that the projecting portion is biased toward the connection terminal 132 during connection. The structure was bent.

In addition, the connection terminal 132 is a plate member having conductivity bent in an L shape. However, the connection terminal 132 may have a U shape instead of the L shape.
In this way, by forming the connection terminal in a U-shape, the connection terminal itself can accept external terminals from three directions.
Therefore, when the present invention is applied, in FIG. 4, in addition to the cover portion 12 having an opening only on the front side in the y-axis direction and the cover portion 22 having an opening only on the upper side in the z-axis direction, There may be a cover portion having an opening only on the lower side in the direction.

In the above description, the connection terminal 132 is a plate-like member, but it may be a polyhedron instead of a plate-like member.
Note that the battery pack of this embodiment may be used not only for small devices such as mobile phones and digital cameras, but also for large devices, and the size of the battery pack is not limited to a small one. It may be a large one.

  The battery pack according to the present invention can be used for battery-powered devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, and personal computers.

It is an external view of the battery pack in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed shape of the connection terminal in embodiment of this invention. It is a partial schematic sectional drawing of the battery pack in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the modification of the battery pack in embodiment of this invention. It is an external view of the conventional connector.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Pack battery 11 Main-body part 12 Cover part 12a Opening part 12b Claw part 13 Battery part 14 Protection circuit assembly part 15 Power generation element body 16 Annular sheet 20 Pack battery 21 Main body part 22 Cover part 22a Opening part 23 Battery part 31 Connection terminal holder 32 Connection terminal 33 Exterior can 33a Recess 34 Sealing plate 40 External terminal 101 Nipping part 102 Supporting part 103 Narrow part 104 Fixing part 105 Bottom part 111 Groove part 132 Connection terminal 140 External terminal

Claims (6)

A battery pack connected to an external terminal,
A connection terminal capable of receiving and connecting the external terminal from a plurality of directions;
A battery pack comprising: a cover portion that covers a part of the connection terminal and restricts the connection only in any one of the plurality of receiving directions.   The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the cover has an opening through which the connection terminal is partially exposed. The connection terminal is
A pair of constrictions facing each other in close proximity;
A support portion that elastically supports the narrowed portion,
At the time of the connection, the external terminal is inserted into the gap between the pair of constricted portions, and the external force is restored by the restoring force of the support portion generated when the constricted portion is pushed outward. The battery pack according to claim 2, wherein the terminal is sandwiched. The connection terminal is a member having a plurality of plane portions,
3. The battery pack according to claim 2, wherein, in the cover portion, the opening is disposed at a position where only one of the plurality of planar portions is exposed. The plurality of receiving directions all belong to substantially the same plane and pass through the gap between the pair of narrowed portions,
2. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of receiving directions is substantially orthogonal to or substantially opposite to another direction. A method of manufacturing each of the first specification and the second specification pack batteries, which are used in connection with an external terminal and have a main body part having a common or similar structure.
In addition to the first disposing step of disposing a connection terminal capable of receiving and connecting the external terminal from a plurality of directions on the main body,
When manufacturing the battery pack of the first specification,
A first cover portion that restricts the connection only in a first direction corresponding to the first specification among the plurality of receiving directions is disposed in the main body portion;
When manufacturing a battery pack of the second specification,
It has a 2nd arrangement | positioning step which arrange | positions the 2nd cover part which restrict | limits the said connection only to the 2nd direction corresponding to the said 2nd specification among these receiving directions in the said main-body part. A method for manufacturing a battery pack.

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