JP2000058136A - Charging and discharging device for plate-like battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charging and discharging device for a plate-like battery capable of space saving and suitable for reliable and mass-protective initial charge. SOLUTION: This device comprises a battery support body 1, having a fitting groove 1a leading out external connect terminals 2a, 2b in a fixed direction and fitted with a plate-like battery 2, a pair of terminal mountings 3a, 3b arranged in the leading-out direction of the external connect terminals 2a, 2b and having contact terminals which respectively pinch the external connect terminals 2a, 2b further switching relatively, a moving mechanism causing the pair of the terminal mountings 3a, 3b to relatively to advance/retreat or to separate/approach and the surface where the fitting groove 1a of the battery support body 1 is formed, an electric circuit applying charging and discharging current/voltage to the respective contact terminals of the pair of the terminal mountings 3a, 3b, and a power source supplying the required current/voltage to the electric circuit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a charge / discharge device for a plate-shaped battery, and more particularly, to a charge / discharge device used for a charge / discharge process in a manufacturing process of a sheet type or a thin plate type secondary battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, cordless and high performance electronic devices such as portable telephones and portable notebook personal computers have been remarkable.
There is a demand for smaller, lighter, thinner and larger capacities.
In response to such demands, a sheet-type secondary sheet having a thickness of about 0.5 mm and having an electrode element in which a positive electrode layer, a polymer electrolyte layer, and a negative electrode layer are stacked and integrated into a sheet (plate) is provided. Batteries are known (for example, U.S. Pat.
5,296,318).

That is, a positive electrode comprising a current collector carrying a positive electrode layer containing an active material such as a metal oxide, a non-aqueous electrolyte and an electrolyte-retaining polymer; and an electrolyte-retaining polymer electrolyte system which functions as a separator. (For example, a system such as a polymer such as a hexafluoropropylene-vinylidene fluoride copolymer, and an ethylene carbonate solution such as a lithium salt, a nonaqueous electrolyte, and an active material that occludes and releases lithium ions, a nonaqueous electrolyte, A negative electrode comprising an electrolyte-retaining polymer-containing negative electrode layer supported on a current collector is laminated in the above-described order to form an electrode element, and the rear surface of the positive electrode and the negative electrode is covered with a resin film to provide a protective / sealing layer (sealing). (Stop layer) to form a sheet type secondary battery. By the way, this type of sheet secondary battery is generally small,
With the thinness, the positive electrode terminal (external connection terminal... Lead) and the negative electrode terminal (external connection terminal... Lead) which are respectively derived from the electrode elements are inevitably reduced in size. On the other hand, in the manufacturing process, the initial charging process is performed also in the case of the sheet-type secondary battery as in the case of the other secondary batteries.

[0004]

However, in the charge / discharge (initial charge) processing, the charge / discharge current terminal or the voltage measurement terminal is brought into direct contact with the positive external connection terminal and the negative external connection terminal. become. Here, a charge / discharge device for a conventional cylindrical secondary battery cannot be used in charge / discharge processing of a plate-shaped secondary battery. That is, since the cylindrical secondary battery has positive and negative external connection terminals at both ends, the cylindrical secondary battery penetrates the cylindrical secondary battery and has a pair of terminal blocks having charge / discharge contact terminals. Thus, a required charge / discharge process is performed with both ends sandwiched.

[0005] However, in the case of a plate-shaped battery, the positive and negative external connection terminals are led out and arranged in a certain direction. Will be performed. And, in general,
The plate-shaped battery is placed on the support surface in a plane,
In this embodiment, the contact terminals for charging and discharging are brought into contact with the positive and negative external connection terminal surfaces arranged. Here, placing the plate-shaped battery in a plane on the surface of the support poses a problem such as an increase in space (enlargement of the support).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide a highly reliable mass-produced charge / discharge device for a plate-shaped battery which is suitable for mass-produced initial charging. And

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery support having an insertion groove in which an external connection terminal is led out in a predetermined direction and a plate-shaped battery is vertically inserted, and the external connection terminal is provided. And a pair of terminal blocks which have contact terminals for separately clamping the external connection terminals and which are relatively openable and closable, and an insertion groove for the pair of terminal blocks and the battery support. An advancing / retreating mechanism for relatively advancing / retreating / disconnecting the surface, an electric circuit for applying a charging / discharging current / voltage to each contact terminal of the terminal block, and a power supply for supplying a required current / voltage to the electric circuit, A charge / discharge device for a plate-shaped battery, comprising:

That is, according to the present invention, in consideration of the reliability and cost reduction of the charge / discharge treatment in the final stage of the manufacturing process, the present invention has a structure in which a plate-shaped battery is vertically (three-dimensionally) inserted into a support. The main point is to increase the reliability of the connection by adopting a configuration in which the charging / discharging contact terminal is sandwichedly contacted with the external connection terminal of the plate-shaped battery while space is provided.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG.
An embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a main part of a charge / discharge device for a plate-shaped battery according to an embodiment. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a front view. In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a battery support (tray) having an insertion groove 1 a into which the external connection terminals 2 a and 2 b are led out in a certain direction and the plate-shaped battery 2 is vertically inserted, and 3 a and 3 b It is a pair of terminal blocks that are arranged in the direction in which the external connection terminals 2a and 2b are led out, have contact terminals that individually clamp the external connection terminals 2a, and that relatively open and close.

The battery support 1 is a molded body made of, for example, a flame-retardant polycarbonate resin, a flame-retardant ABS resin, or a composition obtained by mixing these resins with an inorganic filler. It is mounted on the upper surface of a mounting table 5 fixed to 4, and is positioned and supported. On the upper surface side of the battery support 1, a plurality of rows of insertion grooves 1a of the plate-shaped battery 2 are arranged in a line. By setting the width and length of the insertion groove 1a to be wider, the charge / discharge process can be performed on a plurality of types of plate batteries 2 having different thicknesses or the like. On the other hand, a plurality of pairs of terminal blocks 3a and 3b are provided corresponding to the rows of the insertion grooves 1a of the battery support 1, and the opening / closing cylinders 6a and 3b are provided.
By 6b, each terminal block 3a, 3b pair is integrally opposed to advance and retreat (open / close), and the external connection terminal (positive / negative terminal) of the plate-shaped battery 2
2a and 2b are clamped respectively. Also, the terminal block 3a, 3b pair
The vertical movement cylinder 7 and the guide mechanisms 8a and 8b are configured to integrally advance / retreat / contact with the insertion groove 1a forming surface of the battery support 1 as a unit.

Here, the opening / closing cylinders 6a and 6b and the vertical moving cylinder 7 are, for example, oil cylinders or air cylinders, but may be other means for performing the opening / closing operation and the vertical moving operation described above. Further, the vertical movement of the pair of terminal blocks 3a and 3b with respect to the insertion groove 1a forming surface of the battery support 1 may be performed by moving the battery support 1 up and down.

Each pair of terminal blocks 3a and 3b has a contact terminal (not shown) for electrically connecting to the external connection terminal 2a or 2b of the plate-shaped battery 2, respectively. , Is connected to the other end of an electric circuit that is connected at one end to a power supply (not shown) for supplying required current and voltage. Then, the lead-out and arrangement of the contact terminals are determined by the corresponding external connection terminals 2a.
Alternatively, only a region facing 2b may be provided, or a region may be provided on a front surface facing the pair of terminal blocks 3a and 3b and partially insulated and coated corresponding to the external connection terminals 2a and 2b of the plate-shaped battery 2. May be taken. Further, in the terminal block 3a and the terminal block 3b, a contact terminal for the positive electrode and a contact terminal for the negative electrode may be arranged on at least one of them so as to be insulated from each other.

Next, an example of the operation of the charging / discharging device having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b) and 3 (c).

First, as shown in an enlarged sectional view of FIG. 3A, the terminal blocks 3a and 3b are separated from each other, while the terminal blocks 3a and 3b are separated from each other.
With the pair 3b approaching the battery support 1 side, the plate-shaped battery 2 is inserted into the insertion groove 1a of the battery support 1 with the external connection terminals (positive and negative terminals) 2a and 2b positioned above. To wear. Here, the relationship between the pair of terminal blocks 3a (3b) and the external connection terminals 2a and 2b of the plate-shaped battery 2 is shown in an enlarged perspective view in FIG. The contact terminal 3a 'of the terminal block 3b, which is not shown in the drawing, is connected to the external terminal 2b.
b 'are electrically connected to each other.

Next, the driving of the vertical moving cylinder 7 is performed.
By stopping, the terminal block pair 3a, 3b is guided to the position of the external connection terminals 2a, 2b of the plate battery 2 while being guided by the guide mechanisms 8a, 8b.
To rise. On the other hand, by driving the opening / closing cylinders 6a and 6b, the terminal block pairs 3a and 3b are integrally opposed to each other and advanced (closed), and the terminal block pairs are enlarged as shown in FIG. The external connection terminals 2 of the plate-shaped battery 2 are
Hold a and 2b.

With the terminal blocks 3a and 3b being sandwiched, the external connection terminals 2a and 2b are electrically connected to the contact terminals 3a 'and 3b', respectively, which are led out to the opposing surfaces of the terminal blocks 3a and 3b. I do. In addition, the external connection terminals 2a,
In the sandwiching of 2b, a highly reliable electrical connection is formed without being affected by the posture and bending of the plate-shaped battery 2 or the bending of the external connection terminals 2a and 2b.

External connection terminal by the pair of terminal blocks 3a and 3b
After the sandwiching of 2a and 2b, a required initial charge / discharge process or the like is performed by flowing a charging current from the power supply via the electric circuits 9a and 9b or a discharging current through the electric circuits 9a and 9b.
After performing the required charge / discharge processing, on the contrary,
Release the pinching of the external connection terminals 2a, 2b by the pair of 3a, 3b,
Further, the terminal block pair 3a, 3b is lowered, and the plate-shaped battery 2 inserted in the insertion groove 1a of the battery support 1 is released, and the battery support 1 is removed and a series of operations are performed. finish.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above example, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is possible to arbitrarily select and set the material of the battery support, the structure and the number of battery insertion grooves, and the like.

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the initial charging / discharging process of the sheet type or thin plate type secondary battery, the sheet type secondary battery or the like is vertically inserted and arranged, thereby saving space. Can be achieved. In addition, since the external connection terminal is sandwiched between the terminal block pairs and the system is electrically connected, it is not affected by bending of the sheet type secondary battery, etc., and slight bending of the external connection terminal, etc. Form reliable electrical connections. That is, there is provided an economically effective charge / discharge device that is space-saving and can easily perform a reliable initial charge / discharge process while avoiding complicated operations.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a main structure of a charge / discharge device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the main structure of the charge / discharge device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view showing an implementation state of a charge / discharge process using a charge / discharge device according to an example. FIG. 3 (a) shows a state where a plate-shaped battery is inserted into an insertion groove of a battery support. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view, FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing a combination of the external connection terminals of the plate battery with respect to the contact terminals of the terminal block, and FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view in which the external connection terminals are sandwiched between the terminal blocks.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Battery support 1a ... Battery insertion groove 2 ... Plate battery 2a, 2b ... External connection terminal of plate battery 3a, 3b ... Pair of terminal blocks with contact terminals 4 ... Base 5 ... … Mounting table 6a, 6b… Terminal block opening / closing cylinder 7… Terminal block vertical movement cylinder 8a, 8b …… Guide mechanism 9 …… Electrical circuit for charging / discharging

Claims (1)

[Claims] A battery support having an insertion groove into which the external connection terminal is led out in a certain direction and a plate-shaped battery is vertically inserted; and a battery support arranged in the lead-out direction of the external connection terminal. A pair of terminal blocks each having a contact terminal sandwiched therebetween and opening and closing relatively, and an advance / retreat mechanism for relatively advancing / retreating / contacting the pair of terminal blocks and the insertion groove forming surface of the battery support. A plate-shaped battery comprising: an electric circuit that applies a charge / discharge current / voltage to each contact terminal of the pair of terminal blocks; and a power supply that supplies a required current / voltage to the electric circuit. For charging and discharging equipment.