CA1105556A - Automatic air leak testing apparatus for multiple chambered batteries - Google Patents

Abstract

AUTOMATIC AIR LEAK TESTING APPARATUS AND
METHOD FOR MULTIPLE CHAMBERED CONTAINERS
SUCH AS BATTERIES

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
Containers, such as batteries, battery cases and the like, are moved along a first conveyor to a leak test-ing station, above which is located an assembly having means matable over the openings in the top of the con-tainer. The container is supplied with air at a given pressure, and metering means notes pressure change. If the container does not leak, the container advances from the testing station along the conveyor. If a leak is detected, a reject means ejects the container transversely from the testing station along a second conveyor, thereby isolating leaky containers for further processing.

Description

11S~5556 BACKGROUND OF THF IN~,7ENmIO~
.
This invention relates to auto~.atic leak testinq apparatus, and more particularly, to such apparatus for deter~.ining the integrity of containers such as batteries, battery cases, and the individual cells in batteries.

, i ~l~iS556 In U.S. Patcnt No. 3,~22,58~ issued July 9, 1974, there is shown an air leak tester designed to be applied by hand to determine whether battery cells have leaks therein.
More particularly, the Toback Patent No. 3,833,585 describes a hand operated yoke having a plurality of no~zles adjustable to fit over alternate cell inlets. Air is forced into those alternate cells and a meter notes changes of pressure which indicate air leaks. Thereafter, the remaining alternate cells are similarly tested.
In U.S. Patent No. 3,683,676 there is schematically disclosed a fluidic detector for testing bottles for leaks.
However, there is no disclosure of structural or functional adaptability to batteries, battery casings and the like.
It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide substantially automatic air leak test-ing apparatus for use in a battery production line.
To this end the invention consists of automaticleak testing apparatus for open top battery cases having a plurality of cells de4ined therein, said apparatus comprising:
(a) a resilient template assembly movable to sealingly mate with the top of said open battery case, said template assembly having defined therein slot means for providing fluid communication to each of said cells, said slot means being of sufficient length to provide said fluid communication, (b) means for introducing a predetermined amount of gas into said cells through said template assembly, said template assembly being readily interchangeable and resiliently attached to said gas introducing means; (c) meter means for monitoring the gas pressure in said cells, and (d) reject means, operable in response to said meter means, for isolating leaky ba~tery cases.

~1~5556 In an illustrative embodiment, batteries being processed are advanced along a conveyor to an air leak testing station. One battery is positioned for testing and the remainder are retained from further advancement along the conveyor. An air input assembly is matably positioned over the cell inlets of the battery, and a group of cells is pressurized with air. Associated pressure metering means determines whether an air leak has occurred in any of the pressurized cells. ~epending upon whether the battery was detected as having leaks or not having leaks, it is either passed down the production line for further processing, or is isolated for further investigation.
Similar embodiments are provided for testing open battery cases.
In all of the embodiments particular structural features are present to adapt to various problems incident to the testing of batteries and battery cases. For example, it i5 necessary to provide special mating means depending on whether air is to be inserted through the ports of the finished battery or into the individual cells of an open battery case or into all the '~

~:iLVS556 cells of an open battery case. These mating means must also be adaptable to different sizes of batteries. Like-wise, means must be provided to retain a single battery in the test position while inhibiting further advancement of the remaining batteries and such means must accommodate arious sizes of batteries.
The structural details of the foregoing illus-trati~e embodiment, along with methods of utilizing same, will be more clearly understood upon consideration of the following drawings and detailed description thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of an auto-matic air leak testing station which embodies the principles of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a top view of a porti~n of the apparatus shown in Figure 1 taken as indicated by the lines and arrows II - II in Figure 1.
~ igure 3 is a section partially broken away of a portion of the apparatus taken as indicated by the lines and arrows III - III in Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a section on a slightly enlarged scale of a portion of the apparatus taken as indicated by the lines and arrows I~ - IV in Figure 2 and showing alter-nate positions in phantom lines.
Figure 5 is a section on a greatly enlarged scale, taken as indicated by lines and arrows ~ - V in Figure 1.
Figure 6 is an enlarged section of a portion of of the mating means utilized in this embodiment of the invention shown in mating relation with a battery inlet port shown also in section, with control means illustrated schematically.

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-4a-~1~15S56 Figure 7 is an exploded view in perspective on a greatly enlarged scale of the portion of the apparatus shown in Figure 1.
Figure 8 is a perspective view on a greatly en-larged scale of a portion of the apparatus shown in Figure 1.
Figure 9 is a schematic representation of a por-tion of the system embodied by this apparatus.
Figure 10 is a schematic representation o~ tne pressure testing sys~em of the present inventîon.
Figure 11 is a perspective view on a greatly en-larged scale of an alternate embodiment leak testing assembly intended for use with open ~attery cases, one of which cases is shown partially cut away.
Figure 12 is a cross section of the embodiment shown in Figure 11 taken as indicated by the lines and arrows Y.II - XII, in which the relative position of the pressure gauge is shown in phantom.
Figure 13 is a perspective view on a ~reatly en-ZO larged scale of another alternate embodiment leak testingassembly wherein a template assembly is shown e~ploded away from the remainder of the leak testing assembly.
Figure 14 is a foreshortenea cross section on a greatly enlarged scale of the em~odiment shown in Figure 13 taken as indicated by the lines ana ~rrows XIV-XIV on Figure 13.
Figure 15 is a partially cut away front ele~a-tional view o~ an automatic air leak testing station equipped withthe leak testing assembly e~odiment shown in Figu~e 11 and further showin~ an alternate embodiment battery sensing ana locating means.

ll(tSS56 Figure 16 is a top view of the conveyor means of the alternate embodiment shown in Figure 15, taken as indicated by the lines and arrows XVI-XVI in Figure 15.
Figure 17 is a greatly enlarged diagrammatic side view of the battery locating means of the alternate embodi-ment shown in Figure 15, showing two positions of partially cut away battery cases. Figure 17 is with Figure 11.
Figure 18 is a partially cut away front elevational view of an automatic air leak testing station equipped with the alternate embodiment leak testing assembly illustrated in Figures 13 and 14. Figure 18 is with Figure 10.

- 5a -~SSS6 DE~CRI~TION OF T~IE P~EF~RRED ~M~ODIMENTC
Although specific forms of the invention have been selected for illustrati.on in the drawings, and the following description is drawn in specific terms for the purpose of describing these forms of the invention, this description is not intended to limit the scope of the in-vention which is defined in the appended claims.

Particular Description Of Apparatus and Method For Air Leak Testing Of Completed Batteries Referring to Figures 1 and 2, an apparatus in accordance with this embodiment of the invention is shown.
It comprises vertical support members 101 and 102 and transverse structural members connected thereto such as 105. A conveyor system includes vertical supports 104 and 106 and horizontal support 103. Batteries such as 117 and 118 are ad~anced along the rollers designated general~y 50 in Figure 2, which are mounted fox rotation about their axes to form the conveyor. At the test station which is defined by the stop roller 159 the rollers extend trans-versely beyond the horizontal structural member 103 as clearly illustrated in Figure 2. This test station is the area in which the battery is tested as shown by the shaded area illustrating where the battery 117 would be in Fi~ure

2. The means for positioning ~he battery in this area and fox either advancin~ it along the roller conveyor to the left when viewed as in Fi~ure 2 or re~ecting it trans-versely to the normal direction of advancement, axially along the surface of the long rollers, will be described 11~5556 in greater detail hereinafter. ~lounted immediately above this test station is a testing assem~ly designated gener-ally 113 in Figure 1. The assembly 113 includes a plurality of nozzles 128 through 133 matable over the ports of a battery such as 117 and coupled to air feed hoses 501 and 502 and to meters 503 and 504 by means of a corresponding plurality of conduits 122 through 127. The assembly 113 is vertically movakle by means of rods 114 and 116, bearing assemblies 148 and 149, a pair of counterweights 506 and 507, and an air cylinder and piston assembly 141 and 145.
~ s may be m.ost clearly understood from Figures 1 through 3, the mechanism for positioning a battery for testing, and for precluding other batteries, ~uch as 118, from interfering with the testing pxocess, co~prises up-wardly pivotable rollers from the conveyor which serve as stop mechanisms along the conveyor. The cylinder 179 is pi~otally connected at its left end when viewed as in Figure 1 to a bracket which is fi~edly mounted to the frame of the apparatus so that it can piyot in an arc as shown by the arrow ~. Extending from the cylinder 179 is a piston rod 181 att~ched to the piston within the cylinder~
The free end of the piston rod 181 is pivotally connected proximate to the end of a link 178. The other end of the link 178 is fixedly connected to a rotatable shaft which is rotatably mounted in the structural support member 103.
Thus, on outward extension of the piston roa 181 the shaft will be rotated in a counterclockwise direction when viewed as in ~igure 1 and upon retraction of the rod 181 the shaft will be rotated ln a clockwise direction by the ..~,,,. .. ~

link 178. As will be seen in Figure 3, the shaft 52 (just described) has fixedly attached to it a link 53 and has mounted akout it for axial rotation a roller 160 which forms a portion of the conveyor. I~hile not shown, it will be understood that a simiiar link is connected to the far end of the shaft when viewed as in Figure 3 so that the links embrace the roller 16Q. The other ends of the links embrace the roller 159. A shaft passes through the roller and through the links so that the roller 159 is rotatable about its axis. On appropriate mo~ement to be descri~ed more fully hereinafter the shaft 52 will rotate the links and the roller 59 from the position shown in phantom lines to the position shown in full lines or back again as shown by the arrow B in Figure 3.
A tie rod 180 is pivotally connected at one end intermediate the piYot points of the lever arm 178. The other end of the tie rod is pivotally connected to one end of a lever arm 199. The other end of the lever arm 199 is fixedly connected to a shaft which passes through the support member 103 and which can rotate therein. Mounted about this shaft is a roller 16~ which is free to rotate about its a~is and which forms a portion of the conveyor as shown in Figure 3. A link 54 is fixedly connected to the shaft and together with another link at t~le other end of the roller 178 embraces the roller 168~ndthe roller 167 to function in the same manner upon rotation of the shaft as was prev;ously described in connection with elements 52 and 53. Thus, under control of the cylinder 179 and extending piston rod 181, through connections of lever arms 178 and 199 and tie rod 1~0, rollers 159 and 167 may be pivoted upwardly and over their next ad-jacent rollers 160 and 16~, respectively, thereby forming a stop for batteries 117 and 118 as sho~n. ~henever air pressure in the cylinder 179 is increased, the piston rod 181 moves outwardly, along with tie rod 180, and rollers 159 and 167 again move downwardly into the positions shown in phantom in Figure 3; batteries 117 and 118 are then free to advance along the conveyor. ~owever, a mech-anism is provided to retard the aclvancement of the batteries subsequent to battery 118. Thus only one battery at a time may advance to the test station.
One such mechanism for retarding advancement is shown in Figure 2. Therein a cylinder 55 contains a piston which has a rod extending from the cylinder and terminating in a blunt resilient mass such as a rubber stopper 56. The rod and cylinder are such that it can advance sufficiently to traverse the rollers 50 in the conveyor at least that distance necessary to force a battery against the verti~
cally axial]y mounted guide rollers 189 and prevent move-ment of the battery. Controls are provided (not shown butwell within the skill of one in the art) for actuatins the piston in the cylinder 55 so that it extends the plunger 56 upon opening of the gates c~efined bY the lin~s and rollers 159, 167 Thus, when the gate is open the plunger is already in the extended position to prevent any battery from passing. Once the gates close, as shown in the full line position in ~igure 3, where the rollers 159 and 167 extend above the conveyor, the plunger 156 is retracted allowing the next battery in line to aclvance asainst the stop 167.
_a_ ~ lu5SS6 To correctly position the battery at the test station, once a battery such as 117 is in abutment with the pivoted roller 159, as shown, two fingers 186 and 1~7 are pivoted upwardly and between the rollers, against the battery 117, and further until the battery 117 is locked into place in a predetermined position against the horizon-tal portion 401 of the reject mechanis~ (the operation of which is detailed hereinafter). As may be seen m.ost clearly from Figure 3, the upward pivoting of fin~ers 186 and 187 occurs by means of a cylinder and piston arrangement 183.
The piston rod extending from the cylinder 183 terminates in a rack gear 57 which engages a spur gear 58 fixedly con-nected onthe end of a shaft 280. ~he shaft 280 is mounted in bearing blocks for rotation. The blocks a~e ~ounted to the frame of the apparatus. Intermediate to bearing blocks, the lower ends of the fingers 186,187 are fi~ealy connected to the shaft 280~ Thus upon rotation of the shaft about its axis the fingers will be rotated into and out of the plane of the conveyor rollers 50. The piston in the cylinder 183 which drives the rod connected to the rac~ sear 57 is energized by means of an appropriate control system (not shown~ which is connected by an appropriate logic syster (not disclosed herein but ~ell within the skill of the art) to be actuated upon mo~er.ent and in appropriate sequence of the controls and other portions of the apparatus related thereto, such as that related to the stop rollers and the reject mechanism.
~ ,~henever the battery 117 is so positioned, the lea~ testing assembly, generally desiynated 1~3, may be low-ered into place such that the nozzle asser.blies 128 through 133 mate with the various inlet ports of the battery 117.

11~5556 This occurs chiefly by means of the cylinder 141 and piston 145 arran~ement which is connected to the upper part of the assembly 113. In order to facilitate this operation, the assembly 113 includes upwardly extending rods 114 and 116 which are connected, by means of lines 508 and 509, respec-tively, to a pair of counterweights 507 and 50~ locate~ con-veniently within the upper portion of vertical support members 101 and 102. In preferred embodîments, the rods 114 and 116 pass through bearing asse~blies 148 and 149, and the lines 508 and 509 pass over pulleys located on cantilever support arms 119 and 121. By means of the counterweights 506 and 507, the assembly 113 may also he kept in a nearly bal-anced condition, such that minimal force is necessary from the cylinder 1~1 and piston rod 145 ~or either upward or downward movement.
Referring to Figure 5 through 8, the upper part of the assembly 113 is aefined by a transverse yoke member 511 which is connected as shown to the rods 114 and 115 and the piston rod 145 from the cyl.inder 141. Within the yoke 511 are conduits 512 and 513 which are coupled respec-tively to air inlet hoses 501 and 502, and which also are coupled respectively to a pair of air pressure meters 504 and 503. The conduit 513, which is supplied by air hose 502 and monitored by pressure meter 503, i6 coupled as shown through three supply hoses 123, 125, and 127 to the nozzles 129, 131, and 133. Likewise, the other conduit 512 is con-nected to the inlet hose 501, monitored by the meter 504, and coupled to the air hoses 122, l2ar and 126.
As may perhaps be best appreciated from the ex-ploded ~iew of Figure 7, the end blocks 7Q3 and 704 are mounted on rods 116 and 114 respectively, which permit up-ward and downward movement of the various hlocks 706 through 711 and 603 under control of the cylinder 141 and piston rod 145. Each of the blocks 706 through 711 and 603 is coupled at the top to one of the air supply hoses 122 through 127 by means of a sleeve type connection. Likewise, each of the blocks 706 through 711 and 603 has a passage extending from the top through the bottom and connected to the noæzles 128 through 133. Thus, when the whole assembly 113 is lowered over a battery to be tested, air from the in-let hoses 501 and 502 passes through various conduits in the yoke, downwardly through the air supply hoses 122 through 127, through the passages in the various blocks 706 through 711 and 603, and into the batteries through matable nozzles 128 through 133.
I~ach of the blocks 706 through 711 and 603 includes an outward protuberance 713 throu~h 718, respectively, on an outer face thereof. Li~ewise, the end bloc~s 703 and 704 in-clude similar protuberances 719 and 720. The blocks 706 through 711 and 603 are transversely bored in t~7O places each to accept the longitudinally extending rods 701 and 702 upon which they are slidably mounted. The relatiYe posi-tioning of all of the blocks 706 through 711 and 603 on the rods 701 and 702 is established hy the penetration of the protuberances 713 through 720 in appropriately spaced guide holes on an overlaying face plate 134. As may be seen from the drawing, the plate 134 includes horizontal sets of holes at various spacings, each horizontal set corresponding to a different battery inlet port configuration, that is, the battery inlet ports for different size batteries which are 0 spaced from one another at various distances. The plate is 5~

retained asainst the blocks 703, 704 by ~eans of cam fas-teners 136, 137 respectively. Each cam fastener comprises a cam shaft such as 60, Figure 7, which is threaded at one end as shown for threaded engagement with the block 704; and has at its other end a substantially cylindrical portion with opposed flat sides. There is a hole through the shaft which terminates in these flat sides. The cam body 62 has ~ mating slot (not visible in Figure 7) which accepts the su~stan-tially cylindrical portion of the cam shaft and has flat surfaces to slidingly engage the flat surfaces on the cam shaft. It also has a hole through it which will line up with the hole in the cam shaft so that a pin 66 can be inserted to retain the two in pivotal relation to one another. The bot tom lead surface of the cam body is curved as shown in Figure 7 so that when the handle 64 is pulled ~ack down and away from the plate 134 the curve portion rides in against the plate and forces the plate against the block 704. ~7hen the handle 64 is moved to the upright position as shown in Fi~ure 7, the springs 721, 722 move the plate 134 away from protuberances so they can be realigned for another size battery. Pt the same time they hold the plate against the front faces of the ca~
bodies and thus aid in the realignment procedure, Accordingly, such positioning of the plate on the end blocks 703 and 704 conclusively establishes spacings of the blocks 706through 711 and 603, and thereby of the nozzles 128 through 133.
~ence, any predetermined spacings and numbers of openings in the plate 134 may ~e utilized to adapt the ~sse~ly 113 ~or testin~ of batteries sf any size and nu~ber of cells.

As is most clearly shown in Figures 6 and 7, each of the nozzles 128 through 133 (~igures 1 and 71 is made up of a nozzle portion 602 which is fitted upwardly into its corresponding block, such as 603, and a gasket 601 made of some deformable material which permits an air tight con-nection of the assembly with the battery inlet port 70.
Deformation of the gasket occurs un~er pressure of the whole asse~bly 113 when lowered onto the battery. A switch means 604 energizes introduction of gas to the cell whene~er the gasket 601 is sealably mated on the inlet port 70 of the battery 117. This is accomplished by mounting the switch 604 to the movable frame portion of the testin~ assembly 113 in any suitable fashion so that the switch rises and falls with the frame. T~e switch is actuated by an arm 72 ~hich is pivotally mounted to the switch and has a roller 74 at its free end. As the assembly 113 comes down the roller engages the top surface 76 of the battery 117 and pivots upwardly as the asse~bly continues to be lowered until it finally makes contact and energizes a control circuit (not shown~ to actuate 2Q appropriate valving for introduction of air through the testing assembly and into the battery. The control system it-self will be discussed in more detail hereinafter.
A mode for operation of the embodiment descriked is similar to that set forth in the foregoing patent of Toback, No. 3,822,585 wherein alternate sets of battery cells are tested simultaneously, after which the intervening alternate cells are so tested. ~ccordingly, once the assembly 113 is positioned against the battery top, as in Figure 1, air is supplied through one of the inputs, such as 501, through the associated conduit, such as 512, and into the three hattery cell cavities fed by hoses 122, 124, and 126 and corres-~, ~.i,~j 13 0~56 ponding nozzle assemblies 128, 130 and 132 (Figure 7). ~hena predeterr~.ined amount of air has been introduced into the alternate cells o~ the battery, it can be determined by the associated meter, 504, whether that pressure remains sta-tionary or, by means of a leak, dissipates at an undesired rate. Such pressure monitoring by the meter 504 will be used, as described hereinafter, to energize the other mech-anisms to further process the battery as desired, depending upon whether the tested cells are found to be leaky or not.
Thereupon, by a similar process, pressurized air is provided to the remaining cells by inlet hose 502 through the conduit 513, the hoses 123, 125 and 127, and the nozzles 129, 131 and 133. Pressure in those cells is similarly monitored by metering ~.eans 503. Once the testin~ process is completed, the entire assembly 113 is moved upwardly away from the battery, and, depending upon whether the battery was found to be leaky or not leaky, appropriate mechanisms are ener-gized either to pass a battery on for further production, or to isolate leaky batteries from the processing apparatus.
Figure 4 shows the ~pparatus for the isolation of the batteries. Located directly beneath the elongated rollers, such as 412, which span the two conveyor seg~.ents 201 and 202, is control apparatus for shiftin~ batteries from one conveyor segment to the other. More particularly, beneath rollers 412 are first and second cable looPs~02 and 403 which are interconnec~ed by means of an adjustakle link 404. In turn, the lower cable 403 pass~s over wheels 405 and 406, and the upper cab'e passes over pulleys 407 through 410. Fixedly mounted to the up~er cable ~02 by any suitahle means (not shown) is a push member 401~ ~t least one of the l~S556 wheels 405 and 406 is connected by means of appropriate ~ear, belt, or other transmission apparatus 901 Figure 9 to a power source 902, such that when the wheels are turned in a counterclockwise direction (when viewed as in Figure 4), the link 40~ is moved toward conveyor segment 201, and when wheels 405 and 406 are turned in a clockwise directio~ link 404 is moved toward conveyor segment 202. Correspondingly, as link 404 moves the push mechanism 401 mo~es in the oppo-site direction, since the cable 4Q2 is connected to the link 404. Thus, when the link 404 moves to the left when viewed as in Figure 4, the push mechanism 401 moYes to the right thereby ~Dving the battery 117 from the position shown in full lines in Figure 4, beneath the leak testing assembly 113 on the conveyor segment 2Ql to the second conveyor seg-ment 202 as shown in phantom lines in ~igure ~. The fingers 186, lg7 are rotated to their horizontal position shown in phantom lines in Figure 4 prior to movement of the push member 401 to the right in the direction of the arrow C.
~eversing the direction of wheels 405 and 406 reinstates the push mechanism 401 back in position to abut another battery for processing.
The mechanism shown in Figure 4 for removina bat-teries from con~eyor segment 2al to con~eyor se~ment 202 ser~es as an automatic reject mechanism for removal of bat-teries ascertained to be leaky fro~ the normal production line to a separate place, exemplified by con~eyor segment 202, either for treatment as scrap, discardin~, or other processing such as in~esti~ation for disco~ery and repair of leaks. The power mechanism 901 and 902 which turns wheels 405 and 406 and which thereby operates the push mechanism il~5556 401 is energized by detection of a leak by meters 503 and 504 after associated cells have been pressurized as de-scribed hereinbefore.
While the apparatus described may be utilized in various sequences of operation, a preferred mode is as follows. With the pivotable rollers 159 and 167 in a downward position on the ConYeyor segment 201, a battery advances beyond the area of upward standard 101 and is detected by sensing means, 80 Figure l (such sensing means may involve a photocell receiving a light beam passing across the conveyor segment 201, mechanical means sensing passage of the battery, electrical or electronic sensing systems, or other appropriate apparatusl. Cylinder 179 is energized to pivot rollers 159 and 167 upwardly to the position shown in Figure 1. ~ battery for testing is thereby isolated, and other batteries are held in readiness for subsequent testing by the roller 167 and the plunger 56 Figure 2 as previously descxibed.
Once the battery such as 117 is resting a~ainst upwardly pivoted roller 159, cylinder 183 is ener~ized by other appropriate sensing mechanisms Cnot shown) or by a timer, activated when the rollers are raised, and by means of fingers 186 and 1~7, the battery is locked into place against member 401 Fi~ure 2, for testing~ If for any reason the fingers connot fully extend so as to force the battery completely oYer into place against the push place 401, a sensins device 82, Figure ~, activated by fhe position of the fingers and in particular their position when fully extended, would not function and the machine would be at 0 rest. Thus an operator would know that there was some interference on the conveyor ses~ent 201 which prevented thebattery from being prcperly positioned and could correct this interference. If, however, the finsers ~ere allowed to ~e fully extended and drive the battery against the push plate 401, then the sensing device would be activated to allow a predetermined controlled amount of air to enter the air cylinder 141 and drive the piston and piston rod 145 down-wardly. Thereupon, the assembly 113 is automatically lo~iered downwardly until the nozzles 128 through 133 mate with inlet ports of the battery. The sensor 604, Figure 6, tells the device that the battery is in position and that the nozzles have mated with the battery ports. If the kattery was not in position then the roller 74 on the end of the lever arm 72 of the sensor 604 woul~ not move the ar~ upwardly to close the sensing switch and therefore no contact ~ould be made and the machine again would be at rest. In the at rest position no further action would occur until the condition was rectified. Considering, however, the condition in which a battery is in the appropriate position, cell selector valve 90, Figure 5 (connected to the air source by any suit-able means not shown), automatically moves to the open position for testin~ the odd number cells of the ~attery, that is, cells 1, 3 and 5, by allowin~ air pressure to enter the air inlet hose 501, Figure 5. Mote that the other cells are open to ~he atmosphere even though they are en~aged with appropriate nozzles. When the pressure in cells 1, 3 and 5 reaches a proper predetermine~ pressure, a pressure control valve 92 Figure 10 is actuated to discontinue supplying air under pressure to the cells. The supply of air is diverted through a our way valve 93, Figure 10, to prevent leakage.

11~5S56 A timer 94 then delays further operation of the apparatus until a comparator 95 compares the pressure re~aining in the cells to a desired pressure usually on the order of 2 pounds. It will be noted that the comparator need not be actuated until a certain minimal amount of time has elapsed durin~ which, if there is a leak, the air pressure will have been reduced. Depending on the size of the leak and the d~sired pressure standard which the ~attery must ~eet, it could be that the pressure will drop off slightly but not enough to be rejected. Thus, if the residual pressure in the battery case equals or exceeds the acceptable pressure on the other side of the diaphragm in the comparator, the battery will be accepted. If it fails to reach this pressure, the diaphragm in the comparator-moves over the other side and this signals a ~alve which causes the apparatus to re-ject the battery. If all cells are found not to be leaky, rollers 159 and 167 are pivoted downwardly to fo~m a portion of conveyor segment 201, fingers 186 and 187 disengage from the battery, and the tested battery advances for subsequent processing, while another battery is introduced for further testing.
Partial upward movement of the testing assemkly 113, while releasin~ the ~attery from ensagement with the nozzles 128 through 133, will not cause the machine to further process the batteries. Thus, if only partial move-ment occurs the machine again will come to rest as will the general operation of the assembly line allowing the operator to note the change and correct it if possible. Full upward movement of the assembly will cause the manifold 511, 0 Figure 1, to engage a limit switch 96 which controls the 11~5556 air pressure to the control cylinders 179 and 183. Once thatswitch 96 is closed pressure will be fed to the air cylin-ders to cause the pistons to retract thereby removing the clamp fingers from engagement with the battery and opening the gates 159 and 167. The testing apparatus is now ready to accept an additional battery.
If one or more of the cells is found to be leaky, fingers 186 and 187 are pivoted downwardly, however, rollers lS9 and 167 remain in place since the meter means 98, Figure 9, (which monitors the air pressure in the cells and which comprises in part the meters and the comparator 95) pre-vents air from being introduced into the cylinder 179 while permitting it to be introduced into the cylinder 183. Upon full retraction of the clamp fingers 186, 187 a sensor 99, Fi~ure 4, which is part of the monitoring system of this apparatus actuates the power source 902 to drive the member 405 and the associated cable loop 403 and move the battery to the phantom position as shown in Figure 4, and as pre-viously described. A limit switch 40, ~igure 4, tells the monitoring system that the battery is now in position on the second conveyor segment 202 and accordingly the monitoring means controls the power source to reverse the direction of travel of the ca~le loop 403 and return the push member 401 to its position against the wall cf the cor.veyor 201. A
limit switch 42, Figure 4, tells the control system that the push member has returned to its original operative position.
Pivotable rollers 159 and 167 are thereupon automatically pivoted downwardly to allow introduction of a new battery for testing, whereupon the procedure is repeated.

S5~

~ thile in the fore~oing description the exact physical description of each of the controls as well as the control circuits and monitoring means, was not supplied in detail, sufficient information was given to one skilled in the art to allow them to practice this invention. The attempt here was made to describe the properties and charac-teristics and inter-relationship of the controls and monitoring means and withAin thAat description modifications can be made by those skilled in the art within tA~Ae scope of the invention as described and claimed.
Likewise, many other minor Amodifications may ~e made without departing from the spirit or scope of the principles of the present invention, and some apparatus may be removed or additional apparatus may be aclde~ in accord-ance with thAe abilities of those of ordinary skill in the art.

Apparatus ~And Method Particularly Adapted to Open Battery Casin~s The following is a description of a modification to the apparatus and method previously disclosed herein;
which modification is particularly adapted to the testing of open battery cases or casings which have a plurality of cells. In various eA~odi~ents the cells may be tested in groups or in toto.

There are, of course, many potential sources of intercellular leakage between cells in a finished battery, just as there are many potential causes for leakage of battery electrolyte into the environment surrounding the finished battery. Accordingly, it is advantageous not only to check for leakage between the cells, but also to check for possible voids in the outer walls of battery cases in order to prevent the leakage of battery electrolyte out of a finished battery. This latter determination is best made after the molding of the battery case and prior to the in-sertion of the various battery elements into the case, for the obvious reason that testing at this time to separate defective battery cases results in substantial savings of battery parts, particularly if the battery case is not tested until after those parts have been welded in place.
~ ince one standard form of plastic battery case is punched with apertures between the battery cells for the purpose of making through-the-partition intercellular connec-tions, it is not feasible at this stage in the production of the battery case to test for theintegxity ofeach indi~idual cell with respect to its adjacent cell. On the other hand, applicant has found that a significant number of molded battery cases are formed with undesired Yoids in them, particularly located in the bottom of these cases Con-sequently, a great sa~ings in time, material and effort may be accomplished if these battery cases are tested for their integrity m~ediately after manufacture.

11~5556 Referring now to Figure 11, one alternate embodi ment leak testing assembly intended for use with open bat-tery cases, is shown. It should be noted that during this and the following discussions relating to these alternate embodiments, unless otherwise mentioned, the elements shown in the drawings generally correspond to those elements previously described in Figures 1-10. For purposes of clarity in the following description, many of these elements have been renumbered with numbers which vary in the hundreds place, that is, for example, the rods 814 and 816 shown in Figure 11 correspond to rods 114 and 116 shown in Figure 1.
In Figure 11~ a leak test assembly designated generally 849 is shown in engagement with the top o~ an open battery case 856. This alternate embodiment leak test assembly, designated generally 849, may be seen to comprise a transverse yoke member 811, a plate 852 and a gum rubber pad 854. The transverse yoke member 811 may be seen to be mounted to the supportin~ rods 814 and 816 in the conven-tional manner, which yoke member 811 may be seen to be driven by the piston member 845 in a manner similar to that described above.
Referring now to Figure 12, which is a cross section of the embodiment shown in Figure 11~ the inter-relationship between the leak testina assem~ly and the interior cells of the open case 856 may more clearly be seen. An air input hose 858 and air input bushing 860 may be seen to be in threaded engagement with the transverse yoke member 811 through the upper surface thereof. The hose 858 and bushing 860 may be seen to provide fluid com~uni-cation between an air source (not shown in the drawings)and a yoke recess 861 which is defined by a hollowed out 11~5~56 out portion of the yoke 811, which recess is centered sub-stantially under the piston member 845~ Engaging the under-side of the transverse yo~e member 811 is a steel plate 852, which is adapted to extend beyond the area defined by the vertical walls of the open case 856. The ends of the plate 852 may be seen to cotorminate with the ends of the yoke 811. A fixed gum rubber pad 854 is seen to engage the undersurface of the plate 852 and is seen to have a some-what smaller area than the plate 852. ~ slot 865, as seen in Figure 11, is formed in each of the plate 852 and gum rubber pad 854, which slot is in fluid co~munication with the yoke recess 861, and which is of sufficient length to provide fluid communication between the yoke recess 861 and the cells formed by the case walls and the int~rcellular partitions 857. The batter~T case shown in Figure 12 is a six-celled batterv, and the slot 865 may be seen to span each of the intercellular partitions by a sufficient amount to allow air, represented by the arrowsin Figures lland 12, to enter and pressurize each of the cells. The thick resilient pad 854 may be seen at Figure 12 to be urged by the plate 852 against the walls designated generally 856 in order to form an air-tight seal around the edges thereof.
The operation of this embodiment of the leak testing assembly of the present invention is suhstantially similar to the operation described above, with the exception that the battery case need only he pressurized once, and only one determination need be made in order to determine the integ-rity of the case. As in the previous em~odiment, a gauqe 85~, for determining the pressure T~Tithin the battery case, is attached and in ~luid communication with the yoke 811 and yoke recess 861 respectively. ~n elbow conduit 862 is pro-vided for this purpose.
Referring now to Figure 15~ this embodiment of the leak testing assembly, designated generally 849, m~y be seen in association with the remainder of an automatic air leak testing station which i5 similar, with certain important exceptions, to the air leak test~ng station of Figure 1.
Referring now to Figure 13, showing anot~er alternate embodiment of the leaktesting assembly, designated generally 949, a novel leak testing assembly may he seen in which the reversible template assembly designated generally g52, is shown which is intended for substitution in place of the gasket 601 shown in Figure 6. As in the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the embodiment shown in Figure 13 has six supply hoses, 922-927, each of which are connected through their respective blocks to nozzles, two of which are shown in Figure 14, 928 and 933, which are intended fox alignment over corresponding battery inlet ports 7Q. In the alternate embodiment shown in Figures 13 and 14, the nozzles, instead of contacting the battery inlet ports 70 by means of gaskets 601, engage and mate with corresponding holes 960-965 defined in the template assembly, designated generally 952. This template assembly is generally comprised of upper and lower elastomeric plates composed of a resilient material, such as gum rubber, 950 and 951 respectively, which plates are attached to a steel or other rigid supporting plate 953 having spring pins 955 protruding from the ends thereof. The template assembly, designated generally 952, is therefore held in mating and sealing engagement with the nozzles by means of springs 957 and 958 which engage the spring pins 955 and the corresponding pins 95g disposed on the ends of ~1~'5S~6 bloc~s 903and 904. As shown in Figuxe 14, the lowerelastomeric plate 951 replaces the function of the lower portion of the gasket 601, whereas the upper elastomeric plate 950 replaces the upper surface of that gasket 601 so that the forces, and therefore the wear which would normally be experienced by a gasket, such as the gasket shown in Figure 6, will now be greatly reduced. Furthermore, the mating alignment of the holes 96Q-96 in the template assem-bly, designated generally ~52, with the nozzles 928-933, tend to serve as a check on the air leak testin~ apparatus if the present invention is properly adjusted for the, particular battery to be processed. A further advantage of the embodiment shown in Figures 13 ana 14 is that the characteristic wear on the particular elastomeric plates 950 and 951 can be made to be uniform in a giyen position, and more particularly, the wear which would be expected to be more severe on the lower elasto~eric plate 951 in view of the fact that the upper elastomeric plate will be relatively rigid]y affixed with respect to the various nozzles mating therewith can be equalized. Conse~uently, as the lower elastomeric plate begins to wear so that an effi-cient and effective seal is no longer consistently produced with each indiviaual battery port, the springs may be dis-engaged from the spring pins ~59 and the template assembly may be remsved and reversed, so that the upper elastomeric platP 950 assumes the position former1y occupied by the lower elastmeric plate, and vice versa. Obviously, the ~uick interchange of the template asse~bly described herein also facilitates a rapid change-over between various different sizes of the batteries to be tested. The incorporation of ~"

llU55~ii6 this novel template assembly, designated generally 952, inan air leak testing apparatus in accordance with the present invention, is shown in Figure 18, It should again be noted that the various ele~ents in the apparatus shown in Figure lB are nu~bered in a nine hundre~ series which generally corresponds to the one hundred series reference numbers of elements shown in Fiqure 1. With the exception of the novel features of the template assembly, designated generally 952, discussed a~ove, the operation of the apparatus shown in Figure 18 is substantially identical to that of the apparatus shown in Figure 1~
F.eferring now to Figures 15-17, an alternate em-bodiment of the present invention is shown incorporating certain advance~ents relating to the con~eyor system and battery positioning mechanism of the apparatus of the present invention. In particular, a conveyor system in-cluding vertical supports ~04 and 906 and horizontal support 903 is provided. Batteries, such as 917 and ~18, are ad-vanced along rollers designated generally 50 in Figure 16, which are mounted for rotation about their axes to form the conveyor. At the test station which is defined by the stop roller 859, the rollers extend transversely beyond the horizontal structural. member 903, as clearly illustrated in Figure 16. This test station is ~he area in which the battery is tested, as shown by the shaded area illustrated where the b~ttery .17 would be in Figure 16. ~he means employed in this area ~or either ad~ancing it along the con~eyor to the left, when viewed in Figure 16, or rejecting it transversely to the normal direction of advancement, axially along the surface of the long rollers is substan-tially similar to the mechanism described abo~e in reference ~555~i to thea~p~ratus shownin Fi~uresl-lo~ Mounted immediately above this test station is a testing assembly designated generally 849 in Figure 15. The assembly 84g s~own in ~igure 15 is that previously described with reference to Figures 11 and 12, which assembly is intended for use with open topped battery cases, such as 917 and gl8 shown in Figure 15.
The mechanism for positioning a battery or bat-tery case for testing, and for precludin~ other batteries or other battery cases, such as 918, from interfering with the testing process, comprises upwardly pivotal rollers from the conveyor which serve as stop mechanisms along the conveyor. The cylinder 879 is pivotally connected at its left end when veiwed in Figure 15 to a yoke 880 by ~eans of a mounting projection 881 and pivot pin 882. The cylinder 879 is a double acting cylinder ha~ing a piston rod 883 attached to the piston within the cylinder, The free end of the piston rod 883 is pi~otally connected proximate to the end of a link 878. The other end of the link 878 is fixedly connected to a rotatable shaft wnich is rotatably mounted in the structural support member 103. Thus~ on onward extension of the piston rod 883 the shaft will be rotated in a counterclockwise direction when viewed as in Figure 15, and upon retraction of the rod 883 the shaft will be rotated in a clockwise direction by the link 878. A tie rod 884 is pivotally connected at one end intermediate to pivot points of t~e lever arm 878 and the other end of the tie rod is pivotally connected to one end of a lever arm 899. The other end of the lever arm 899 is fixedly connected 0 to a shaft which passes through the support member 903 and S~

which can rotate therein. Mounted about this shaft is aroller which is free to rotate about its axi~ and which forms a portion of the conveyor, as shown in Figure 16. Thus, under control of the cylinder 879 and extending piston rod 883, through connections of lever arms 878 and 899 and tie rod 884, rollers 859 and 867 may be pivoted upwardly and over the next adjacent rollers, respectively, thereby form-ing a stop for batteries and/or battery cases as shown.
Referring again to the left end of cylinder 879, it may be seen that each end of the yoke 880 is connected to second and third cyllnders 885 and 886 respectively. The cylinder rods of the second and third cylinders may be seen to be connected pivotally to the yoke 880. Third cylinder 886 is slightly smaller than first cylinder 879, whereas seco~d cylinder 885, which is pivotally connected to the horizontal support member 9Q3, is slightly smaller than third cylinder 886. As shown in Figure 15, third cylinder 886 is rigidly mounted to vertical support member 902 by means of an angle bracket 887 atta¢hed to the third cylinder at one end and to the vertical supporting member 802 at the other end.
Referring now to Figure 17, the operation of the various cylinders in automatîcally ]ocating the batteries or battery cases to be processed with respect to the testing assembly, is clearly illustrated. Depending upon the acti-vation of the va~ious cylinders, numerous battery sizes may be processed by the test assembly 849 without making any ad~ustments whatsoever to the apparatus Furthermore, the embodiment shown in Figures 15-17 may process open battery cases in a mixed production line~herein the various cases 11~5~

fed into the conveyor xepresent a xandom assortme~t of various battery sizes. This mechanism for precisely cen~
tering the battery cases under the test assembly 84~ func-tions as follows: Fach battery case is introAuced into the position shown for case 917 in Figure 16 until it rests firmly against roller 859. Depending upon the size of the battery case to be processed, one or more of the photo-electric means 88~-891, which normally reflect off mirrors 892-894, will be interfered with. It is understood th~t, while only three photoelectric sensin~ means are shown for purposes of illustration, any num~er of such means may be used in connection with a plurality of cylinders and cylin-der combinations in order to determine the longitudin~l dimension of the battery so as to accomplish the locating process described herein~ For purposes of illustration, therefore, when, as in Figure 16, a battery case 917 inter-faces with all three of the photoelectric sensing means 889-~91, no adjustment in the positioning of the battery case 917 with respect to the test assembly 84~ is necessary.
Consequently, the cylinders 885, 886 and 879 remain in the position shown in solid lines in Figure 17. Rlternatively, when a battery so~ewhat smaller than the b~ttexy 917 shown in Figure 16 is stopped by roller 859, only two of the three photoelectric sensing means are interfered with and the mechanism would then activate cylinder 886, to extend the lower portion of yoke 880, thereby ~oving c~ylinder 879 to the left as seen in Figure 17, ~hich in turn moves roller 859 slightly to the right, thereby precisely positionina a somewhat smaller kattery directly under the center of test 0 assembly 849, as shown in phantom.

;5~

Similarly~ when an even smaller battery comes torest against roller 859, only photoelectric sensing m.eans 889 will be interfered with and cylinders controlled by photoelectric sensing means 890 and 891 would both extend to a position wherein roller 859 would stop the smaller bat-tery even further to the right than -30a-llGSSSfi the roller position shown in phantom in Figure 17. As shown in Figure 16, the photoelectric sensing means are placed at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the con-veyor so that the light which is emitted therefrom will not be directly reflected back from the surface of a battery case, and false signals to the apparatus are thereby prevented.
It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials and arrangment of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the ~, nature of this invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims.

Claims (4)

1. Automatic leak testing apparatus for open top battery cases having a plurality of cells defined therein, said apparatus comprising:
(a) a resilient template assembly movable to sealingly mate with the top of said open battery case, said template assembly having defined therein slot means for providing fluid communication to each of said cells, said slot means being of sufficient length to provide said fluid communication;
(b) means for introducing a predetermined amount of gas into said cells through said template assembly, said template assembly being readily interchangeable and resiliently attached to said gas introducing means;
(c) meter means for monitoring the gas pressure in said cells, and (d) reject means, operable in response to said meter means, for isolating leaky battery cases.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said template assembly further comprises a rigid plate and a resilient pad, said pad being adapted to form a seal between said template assembly and the outer walls of said case.

3. Automatic leak testing apparatus for leak test-ing open topped battery cases having a plurality of cells defined therein and comprising means for introducing a pre-determined amount of gas into said cells through a template assembly, meter means for monitoring the gas pressure in said cells and reject means, operable in response to said meter means, for isolating leaky battery cases, said apparatus further comprising: said template assembly movable to mate with the top of said open battery case, said tem-plate assembly having defined therein slot means for pro-viding fluid communication between each of said cells and said gas introducing means, said template assembly compris-ing a rigid plate and a resilient pad, said pad being adapted to form a seal between said template assembly and the outer walls of said case, said resilient pad having a slot defined therein of sufficient length to span the intercellular partitions of said battery case.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said plate has a slot defined therein complementally configured to the slot defined in said pad.