GB2084386A - A gas and liquid tight sealing structure for an accumulator or storage battery - Google Patents

A gas and liquid tight sealing structure for an accumulator or storage battery Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2084386A
GB2084386A GB8128034A GB8128034A GB2084386A GB 2084386 A GB2084386 A GB 2084386A GB 8128034 A GB8128034 A GB 8128034A GB 8128034 A GB8128034 A GB 8128034A GB 2084386 A GB2084386 A GB 2084386A
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GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
bush
pole
sealing structure
sealing
counter
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB8128034A
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GB2084386B (en
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Accumulatorenfabrik Sonnenschein GmbH
Original Assignee
Accumulatorenfabrik Sonnenschein GmbH
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Accumulatorenfabrik Sonnenschein GmbH filed Critical Accumulatorenfabrik Sonnenschein GmbH
Publication of GB2084386A publication Critical patent/GB2084386A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2084386B publication Critical patent/GB2084386B/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01MPROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M50/00Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the non-active parts of electrochemical cells other than fuel cells, e.g. hybrid cells
    • H01M50/10Primary casings; Jackets or wrappings
    • H01M50/172Arrangements of electric connectors penetrating the casing
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02EREDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E60/00Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02E60/10Energy storage using batteries

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Electrochemistry (AREA)
  • General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Sealing Battery Cases Or Jackets (AREA)
  • Sealing Devices (AREA)

Abstract

A gas and liquid tight sealing structure for the metallic pole bush of an accumulator relative to the plastics top thereof, in which the metallic pole extends through the pole bush and is welded or soldered thereto externally. An inwardly extending counter bush (5) for the pole bush (2) is provided, the counter bush being either fixedly connected to or integrally formed with the plastics top (3). At least one annular groove (6, 7) is provided at the inner periphery of the counter bush or, preferably, at the outer periphery of the pole bush for receiving at least one sealing ring (8, 9). The annular groove is preferably formed by a cutting operation. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A gas and liquid tight sealing structure for an accumulator or storage battery The present invention relates to a gas and liquid tight sealing structure for the metallic pole bush of an accumulator or storage battery relative to the plastics top thereof.
Sealing structures of this type, in which the metallic pole extends through a pole bush and is welded or soldered thereto externally, have, hitherto, generally been used. Initially, the pole bush is embedded with its outer periphery in the rover of the accumulator, wherein an integral member consisting of a cell cover and any desired number of pole bushes is formed. With earlier accumulators having hard rubber tops the embedding method comprised inserting the pole bushes into the moulds required for making the top, coating them with the raw material for the top, and vulcanizing them. With modern tops of thermoplastic materials the procedure is analogous, the pole bushes being embedded into the top during injection moulding of the top.Other methods have also become known, in which the embedding of the pole bush within the top is effected within a recess of the top by means of casting resin, in which case the casting resin forms the seal between pole bush and cell top.
With all methods of this type it has been common practice to enlarge the surface of the pole bush on the outer periphery thereof by means of notches, projections, slots and the like in order to give it a better mechanical stability within the top and at the same time to increase the distance between top and pole bush necessary for sealing. When the plastics top is placed on the finished accumulator the upper end of the pole will automatically pass through the pole bush to the outside. Thereupon an annular weld or solder connection is formed between the metallic pole and the metallic pole bush.Whereas a properly formed metallic weld between the pole and the pole bush will remain tight for an unlimited time, mechanical and additionally electrochemical strains within the joint between the material of the top and the pole bush, especially in the case of thermal stress acting on the accumulator due to the greatly differing coefficients of expansion of plastics material and metal, have resulted in leakages when the joint between the pole bush and the cell top is partially loosened with time due to the above-mentioned strains. The result was a leakage of harmful sulphuric acid used as the electrolytic liquid, especially in the case of gas-tight accumulators or ones operated at a slight overpressure in the cell interior.
The present invention makes it possible to provide a sealing structure of the type specified above such that a reliable sealing is obtained under varying operational conditions.
According to the present invention the plastics top used for sealing the entire accumulator is provided with an inwardly projecting counter bush for the pole bush, and the inner periphery of the counter bush or, preferably, the outer periphery of the pole bush is formed with at least one annular groove for receiving a sealing ring. The sealing ring consists preferably of an acid and oil resistant rubber-elastic material, for instance silicone or neoprene rubber.
It has come to light that it is possible to obtain an improved sealing and also to facilitate insertion of the metallic pole bush including the sealing rings into the counter bush of the top when the annular groove is formed in the metallic pole bush instead of in the counter bush made of plastics material. The sealing can be further improved by forming the annular groove by cutting, i.e. highly accurately, with a smooth clean surface. Similarly, it is advantageous to provide the outer periphery of the pole bush by means of machining with a smooth clean surface in case the annular groove is formed on the inside of the counter bush.
Furthermore it is advantageous to provide a plurality, preferably at least two sealing rings. The diameter of the sealing rings is made slightly larger than the distance between the deepest point of the annular groove and the opposed smooth wall. The slightly larger sealing ring diameter provides for the required contact pressure on the bearing surfaces of the annular groove and the opposed wall and thus results in a perfect seal. The thus described embodiment of the sealing structure can accommodate both radially occurring mechanical forces by elastic deformation of the sealing rings and also axially occurring forces by axial displacement along the wall of the counter bush or, respectively, the pole bush which forms a sliding surface opposed to the annular groove.
To further improve the sealing effect the ends of the pole bush and/or of the counter bush projecting into the accumulator interior each may be formed with annular notches or bevels for receiving an additional sealing means. This additional sealing means may be a rigid or permanently elastic annular disk cemented or clamped into the notch. The same effect can be achieved by filling the annular notch or bevel with a sealing compound such as, for instance, bitumen or a holt-melt adhesive composed of natural or synthetic resins. Preferably, permanently elastic sealing compounds are used which are resistant to both oil and acids. Appropriately, the two notches formed on the pole bush and on the counter bush result in combination in a trapezoidal crosssection or are slightly undercut so that an annular disc may be clamped therein.
The sealing means may be a plastic sealing ring of plastics material, preferably of polyolefin. The sealing means may also be a permanently elastic, acid resistant and preferably also oil-resistant sealing compound preferably consisting of vaseline, bitumen or hot-melt adhesive such as, for instance, ethylene a6rylo-polymer and.
respectively, other products of this type, polyolefins, rosin.
The outwardly extending end of the pole bush may be provided with an additional slide space.
This may be formed by considerably decreasing the wall thickness of the pole bush in the outwardly extending portion thereof. In case of an increased gas pressure in the accumulator interior and in case of mechanical forces occurring in the direction of the pole axis it is the purpose of the slide space to permit the pole bush together with the pole soldered or preferably welded thereto in a gas-tight manner to move within predetermined limits towards the pole axis without affecting or eliminating the seal. This permits a compensation in case of different ambient temperatures and varying conditions of operation. This kind of sealing will, for instance, also be useful in the last stage of a charging process, when the formation of gas commences, which can hardly be completely prevented.
Suitably, the slide space may be filled with a lubricant so as to improve the sealing effect and at the same time to permit sliding, because part of the lubricant will flow along the inside of the counter bush. A preferred and advantageous lubricant is a grease such as vaseline or an oil such as silicone oil.
In accordance with a special embodiment of the invention the plastics top extends beyond the slide space in such a manner that the same is substantially covered. Therefore the cover may serve as an outer abutment for the pole bush.
When the pole bush slides outwardly under an increased inner gas pressure the lubricant between the outer periphery of the outer pole bush having a reduced wall thickness and the inner periphery of the cover of the plastics top will in part be urged outwardly. This effect is quite desirable because a still more improved sealing may be obtained thereby.
It is also possible initially to grease the inside of the counter bush with lubricant such as silicone oil or vaseline grease, thus facilitating sealing and sliding.
Finally, the cover of the plastics top may be provided with a detachable feeder piece projecting into the slide space, through which feeder piece lubricant may be replenished from time to time.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the counter bush may be cup-shaped, wherein the pole extends to the outside through a substantially central opening formed in the cup bottom while the pole bush joined therewith in a gas-tight manner may abut the cup bottom.
If one does without a cover of the upper additional slide space permanently joined to the upper side of the plastics top and merely places or clamps an annular cover disk thereon or omits even such a cover disk, the entire sealing structure may easily be inserted or, respectively, removed and replaced after welding of the cell top. Even repair work on later found faulty pole bushes and sealing rings is readily possible even after the annular welding of the pole bushes and the poles by cutting away the annular weld and replacing faulty pole bushes and sealing rings. In the other embodiments of the invention, on the other hand, it will be necessary to instal the sealing structure prior to attaching the top and, respectively, in case of repairs also to remove the weld between the top and the accumulator body.
Surprisingly, it has been found that the described sliding seal is able to cope with the varying operational conditions occurring in the use of accumulators, especially of lead accumulators, far better than the allegedly simpler and reliable embedding of the pole bush into the plastics top by means of pressing, injection-moulding or sealing by means of casting resins.
The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a sealing structure in which the annular grooves for the sealing members are formed on the pole bush, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a further embodiment of the present invention in which the annular grooves for the sealing rings are formed on the counter bush, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a still further embodiment of the invention in which the counter bush is cup-shaped.
As shown in Fig. 1 a counter bush 5 for the pole bush 2 projects from the plastics top 3 or, respectively, the cell top of the accumulator or storage battery into the interior thereof. This counter bush 5 is integrally formed with the plastics top 3. In the direction of a constriction of the pole bush at the outer end thereof a cover 22 is provided which is also integrally formed with the plastics top 3. The material may be any commercially available material for accumulator tops.
The pole 4 extends upwardly through the pole bush 2, the upper pole tip having a smaller crosssection for purposes of termination. The pole 4 and the pole bush 2 are welded to each other in a gas-tight manner by means of an external annular weld (19).
At its outwardly facing end 20 the pole bush 2 has reduced cross-section relative to the main portion 21 thereof. This outer end 20 of the pole bush 2 projects through a through-opening 18 of the cover of the plastics top 3. The throughopening 1 8 is inwardly flared.
A slide space 10 is defined between the outer end 20 and the main portion 21 of the pole bush 2. The outer periphery of the main portion 21 of the pole bush 2 is formed with two hollowed-out annular grooves 6, 7 intended to receive corresponding sealing rings 8, 9. Moreover, the inwardly directed free end of the pole bush 2 is provided with a notch 13 and a corresponding notch 14 is provided at the opposite free end 12 of the counter bush 5 for receiving a sealing compound 15. A feeder piece 17 for lubricant extends from the outside into the slide space 10.
Fig. 2 shows a further embodiment of the present invention, in which the plastics top is 33, the cover is 52, and the counter bush projecting into the accumulator interior is 35. This counter bush 35 has a somewhat greater wall thickness, because it is provided with notches 36 and 37 for sealing ring 38 and 39. The main portion 51 of the pole bush 32, on the contrary, has no notches. For the rest, this embodiment corresponds to that according to Fig. 1, in which the entire sealing structure has the reference numeral 31 (while in Fig. 1 it has the reference numeral 1), the outer portion of the pole bush 32 which is of reduced wall thickness has the reference numeral 50, the slide space is designated by 40, and the feeder piece is designated by 47.The bottom free end 42 of the counter bush 35 has an annular notch 43 facing towards the pole bush 32 and is intended to receive an annular cover disk 44 made of permanently elastic plastics material, preferably of polypropylene or polyethylene.
In Fig. 3 the counter bush 65, which is integrally formed with the plastics top 63, is shaped like a cup extending into the accumulator interior. The pole 64 extends to the outside through a substantially central opening within this cup-shape. The pole 64 is joined to the pole bush 62 by means of an annular weld 79. The pole bush 62 may abut the bottom of the cup. The outwardly directed portion 80 of the pole bush 62 has a reduced wall thickness so that also in this embodiment a slide space 70 is formed. Similar to the sealing structure of Fig. 1 the here shown sealing structure 61 is provided with the annular grooves 66 and 67 for the sealing rings 68 and 69 at the outer periphery of the pole bush 62. In Fig.
3 the slide space 70 is sealed by means of a cover ring 81. This kind of sealing permits ready replenishing of the slide space and of the space defined between the outer periphery of the pole bush 32 and the inner wall of the counter bush 35 with lubricant. Moreover, the assembly and, if desired, the disassembly of the entire sealing structure is facilitated.
The sealing structure according to the present invention permits a reliable long-time sealing under all practical conditions of use. Moreover, the assembly is simple and the sealing structure may be readily and easily replaced for repair purposes also during operation.

Claims (14)

1. A gas and liquid tight sealing structure for the metallic pole bush of an accumulator or storage battery relative to the plastics top thereof, in which the metallic pole extends through a pole bush and is welded or soldered thereto externally, wherein there is provided an inwardly extending counter bush for the pole bush, said counter bush being either fixedly connected to or integrally formed with the plastics top, and at least one annular groove in the inner periphery of the counter bush or in the outer periphery of the pole bush for receiving a sealing ring.
2. A sealing structure as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the annular groove is formed by a cutting operation.
3. A sealing structure as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the free end of the pole bush projecting into the accumulator interior and the inwardly projecting free end of the counter bush of the plastics top are formed with annular notches for receiving a sealing compound or for receiving an annular sealing member.
4. A sealing structure as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the sealing compound or the annular sealing member has a trapezoidal cross-section increasing towards the accumulator interior and corresponding to the shape of the recess defined by the annular notches.
5. A sealing structure as claimed in any of the preceding Claims, wherein an annular slide space is provided in the outer region of the pole bush, said slide space being defined by a reduced wall thickness of the pole bush in the outer region.
6. A sealing structure as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the slide space is filled with lubricant.
7. A sealing structure as claimed in Claim 5 or Claim 6, wherein the plastics top covers the slide space such that the covered area functions as an external abutment for the outwardly slidable pole bush.
8. A sealing structure as claimed in any of the preceding Claims, wherein the inside of the counter bush is covered with a lubricant.
9. A sealing structure as claimed in any of the preceding Claims, wherein a removable filler piece is disposed in the cover of the plastics top and projects into the slide space.
10. A sealing structure as claimed in any of the preceding Claims wherein the counter bush is cupshaped, and wherein the metallic pole projects through a substantially central opening formed in the cup bottom and the inwardly projecting end of the pole bush may abut the cup bottom.
1 A sealing structure as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the slide space is open to the outside.
12. A sealing structure as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the slide space is substantially sealed to the outside by means of a cover ring or by the protruding plastics top.
13. A sealing structure substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in any Figure of the accompanying drawings.
14. An accumulator or storage battery having a sealing structure as claimed in any preceding claim.
GB8128034A 1980-09-22 1981-09-16 A gas and liquid tight sealing structure for an accumulator or storage battery Expired GB2084386B (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE3035737A DE3035737C2 (en) 1980-09-22 1980-09-22 Gas- and liquid-tight sealing of the metallic pole socket of an accumulator

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB2084386A true GB2084386A (en) 1982-04-07
GB2084386B GB2084386B (en) 1984-08-08

Family

ID=6112575

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB8128034A Expired GB2084386B (en) 1980-09-22 1981-09-16 A gas and liquid tight sealing structure for an accumulator or storage battery

Country Status (6)

Country Link
AT (1) AT380353B (en)
DE (1) DE3035737C2 (en)
FR (1) FR2490878A1 (en)
GB (1) GB2084386B (en)
IT (1) IT1211108B (en)
SE (1) SE8105562L (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7128212B2 (en) * 2001-01-25 2006-10-31 Entegris, Inc. Sealing system for ports of vessels used for corrosive fluids
DE102012218160A1 (en) * 2012-10-04 2014-06-12 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft Memory cell and memory module

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3230628C1 (en) * 1982-08-18 1983-12-29 Accumulatorenfabrik Sonnenschein GmbH, 6470 Büdingen Method for producing a gas-tight and fluid-tight terminal seal of a lead-acid accumulator, and a terminal seal produced according to this method
DE4212214A1 (en) * 1992-04-08 1993-10-14 Hagen Batterie Ag Pole feed-through for accumulator cells

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1062297B (en) * 1958-02-28 1959-07-30 Concordia Elek Zitaets Ag Pole lead through for accumulator cells
DE1671999B1 (en) * 1967-11-11 1971-11-25 Varta Ag POLD LEAD-IN IN THE FORM OF A LEAD SOCKET WITH ONE OR MORE LABYRIN RINGS
GB1415517A (en) * 1972-02-29 1975-11-26 Lucas Batteries Ltd Electrical storage batteries
DE2757568C2 (en) * 1977-12-23 1986-05-15 Varta Batterie Ag, 3000 Hannover Electric accumulator

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7128212B2 (en) * 2001-01-25 2006-10-31 Entegris, Inc. Sealing system for ports of vessels used for corrosive fluids
DE102012218160A1 (en) * 2012-10-04 2014-06-12 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft Memory cell and memory module

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2084386B (en) 1984-08-08
IT8123999A0 (en) 1981-09-16
ATA407981A (en) 1985-09-15
IT1211108B (en) 1989-09-29
AT380353B (en) 1986-05-12
DE3035737C2 (en) 1985-03-14
FR2490878A1 (en) 1982-03-26
SE8105562L (en) 1982-03-23
FR2490878B3 (en) 1983-07-22
DE3035737A1 (en) 1982-04-22

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PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee