JP2000188135A - Aging device for battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate handling after an abnormal condition is detected, by promptly detecting the abnormality of a battery for every shelf. SOLUTION: An exhaust duct 6, piping 8 for fire extinguishing gas and piping 10 for water or fire extinguisher are connected to each shelf 4 in an aging device 2 of a battery, and an atmosphere sensor 12 is provided on a branch pipe 11 for every shelf, in order to detect leakage of liquid and gas organic electrolyte. Thereby, an abnormal condition can be promptly detected for every shelf, and can be dealt shelf by shelf. Therefore, influence to other shelves can be minimized and development into a fire can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the aging of batteries such as lithium ion batteries, and more particularly to the prevention of accidents due to leakage of liquid or gaseous organic electrolyte during aging.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Lithium batteries include a lithium primary battery (hereinafter simply referred to as a lithium battery) and a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery (hereinafter referred to as a lithium ion battery). These may be collectively referred to as a lithium battery. As an electrolyte for a lithium battery, an organic electrolyte obtained by dissolving a lithium salt such as LiBF4 or LiPF6 in an organic solvent such as propylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, dimethyl carbonate or diethyl carbonate is used. As a problem of the lithium battery, there is a point that the organic electrolyte is liable to leak in a liquid or gaseous state from the seal.

The final step before shipping lithium batteries is aging, the contents of which are known per se. In this step, liquid or gaseous leakage of the organic electrolyte is likely to occur due to an increase in internal pressure due to charge and discharge, and in extreme cases, a fire may be caused. Aging is performed in the aging device,
In the event of an abnormality such as a fire, a fire alarm in a room in which many aging devices are arranged is activated, and water or a fire extinguisher is sprayed from a sprinkler on the ceiling of the room. When water or fire extinguisher is sprayed, not only is it necessary to clean up but also
Many batteries in process are wasted.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to detect an abnormality of a battery at the time of aging promptly for each shelf, thereby facilitating processing after the abnormality is detected. A secondary object of the present invention is to perform a fire extinguishing operation for each shelf so as to minimize the influence on other shelves (claims 2 and 3). A secondary problem of the present invention is that it takes time and effort to recover after a fire extinguishing operation, and the spraying of water or a fire extinguishing agent that has a large effect on work in process is minimized (claim 3). A secondary object of the present invention is to detect an abnormality of each shelf promptly and without omission (claim 4). A secondary object of the present invention is to keep the concentration of the atmosphere caused by the liquid or gaseous leakage of the organic electrolytic solution from rising above the ignition concentration of the organic solvent. A secondary problem of the present invention is that
It is to reliably detect the danger of fire (claim 6). A secondary object of the present invention is to simplify and simplify piping to an aging device (claim 7). A secondary object of the present invention is to particularly reliably detect leakage of a liquid or gaseous organic electrolyte from a battery (claim 8).

[0005]

According to the battery aging device of the present invention, an atmosphere sensor for detecting an atmosphere in the shelf is provided for each shelf of the aging device partitioned into a plurality of shelves.
A fire-extinguishing gas supply port is provided, and the fire-extinguishing gas supply port is opened and closed by a signal from an atmosphere sensor for each shelf. In addition to the type of battery, a lithium battery, a lithium ion battery, a nickel hydrogen battery, a nickel cadmium battery, a dry battery, or the like may be used. The atmosphere sensor is a sensor that detects the contents of the atmosphere, such as a gas sensor, a temperature sensor, and a smoke sensor.

Preferably, the fire extinguishing gas supply port is provided for each shelf, and at least the fire extinguishing gas supply port of the shelf is opened by a signal of an atmosphere sensor for each shelf. More preferably, a water or fire extinguisher spray port is provided for each shelf, and a signal of the first level and a signal of a second level equal to or higher than the first level are provided for the signal of the atmosphere sensor. A fire extinguishing gas is supplied by a signal, and water or a fire extinguisher is sprayed by a second level signal. Preferably,
Each shelf is connected to an exhaust duct by a branch pipe for each shelf, and the atmosphere sensor is disposed on the branch pipe. Preferably, a signal of the third level lower than the signal of the first level is provided in the signal of the atmosphere sensor, and the amount of exhaust to the exhaust duct is increased by the signal of the third level. Preferably, the atmosphere sensor is
The sensor is a combination of at least two of a gas sensor, a smoke sensor, and a temperature sensor. Preferably, a sprinkler is provided which also serves as a supply port for the fire extinguishing gas and a spray port for the water or the fire extinguishing agent, and a pipe for the fire extinguishing gas and a pipe for the water or the fire extinguishing agent are connected to the sprinkler.
Preferably, the gas sensor is at least one of a hydrogen fluoride sensor and an odor sensor.

[0007]

According to the present invention, since an atmosphere sensor is provided for each shelf of the aging device, there is no need to wait for gas, smoke, heat, etc., generated by liquid leakage from the battery to spread to the upper portion of the aging device. An abnormality can be quickly and reliably detected. Further, since the shelf in which the abnormality has occurred can be specified, it is only necessary to perform a measure on a necessary shelf, and recovery after the abnormal measure is facilitated. Since the abnormal shelf can be quickly detected and treated, it is possible to prevent the leakage of the liquid or gaseous organic electrolyte from developing into a fire or the like.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a fire extinguishing gas supply port is provided for each shelf, so that a fire extinguishing gas can be quickly supplied to a required shelf and the oxygen concentration of the corresponding shelf can be rapidly reduced. It is possible to quickly take measures against the initial fire and the like.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the case where it is difficult to extinguish the fire with the extinguishing gas is backed up by spraying the water or the fire extinguisher from the spout of the water or the fire extinguishing agent, and spraying the water or the fire extinguisher on each shelf. Since the mouth is provided, the other shelves are less likely to be contaminated by spraying of water or fire extinguisher.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the atmosphere sensor is disposed in the exhaust duct, the atmosphere from the entire shelf is sucked by the exhaust duct, so that the abnormality can be detected promptly without leakage.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, before the extinguishing gas is released, the amount of exhaust from the exhaust duct can be increased, the concentration of the organic electrolyte in the shelf can be reduced, and a fire or the like can be prevented. .

In order to ensure the reliability of the detection, the atmosphere sensor is preferably at least two types of sensors selected from gas sensors, smoke sensors and temperature sensors, and preferably a common sprinkler is provided with a fire extinguishing gas supply and water or The piping is easily and simply combined with the supply of the fire extinguishing agent. More preferably, since the fluorine salt in the organic electrolyte solution from a lithium ion battery or the like is easily decomposed into hydrogen fluoride, and the carbonate compound or ether of the organic solvent has an odor, the gas sensor is referred to as a hydrogen fluoride sensor. At least one of odor sensors (gas sensors for low-concentration organic solvents).

[0013]

1 to 5 show an embodiment for aging of a lithium ion battery. FIG. 1 shows an overall image of the aging device. Reference numeral 2 denotes an individual aging device, which may be a closed type, an open type, or a semi-open type. The aging device 2 is partitioned into a number of shelves 4, and each shelf accommodates a number of lithium-ion batteries for aging. 6 is an exhaust duct, 8 is a pipe for a fire extinguishing gas such as CO2, N2 or flame retardant halon, 10 is a pipe for water or a fire extinguisher, and the fire extinguisher is sodium bicarbonate powder, A solution in which casein or the like is added to a mixed aqueous solution of aluminum and radiated in the form of foam is used. Exhaust duct 6
Then, air in each shelf 4 can be exhausted by branch pipes 11 for each shelf, and a sensor head 12 for each shelf is arranged in the branch pipe 11. In the case of the embodiment, there are four types of atmosphere sensors provided in the sensor head 12, a hydrogen fluoride sensor, an odor sensor, a smoke sensor, and a temperature sensor. The extinguishing gas pipes 8 and 10 are joined by a valve 14 so that a branch pipe 15 for each shelf 4 can supply extinguishing gas or water or a fire extinguisher into the shelf. Reference numeral 16 denotes a sprinkler provided at the tip of the branch pipe 15, which also serves as a spray port for water and a fire extinguisher and a supply port for a fire extinguishing gas. The number of installations per shelf 4 is one to a plurality. In order to control the amount of exhaust gas for each shelf 4, the valve 1 shown in FIG.
7 is provided.

Returning to FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes a control processing unit (CPU) which is serially connected to each aging device 2 and which monitors a personal computer 2 for monitoring.
The data of each unit 20 can be input to the personal computer 22 via the CPU 20 provided in front of the unit 2. 24 is a printer. The task of each CPU 20 is to detect the presence or absence of an abnormality based on a signal from the sensor head 12 provided for each shelf 4, to increase or decrease the displacement of each shelf 4 by the valve 17,
And providing two measures: fire extinguishing by supplying a fire extinguishing gas and fire extinguishing by spraying water or a fire extinguishing agent.
Another job of each CPU 20 is to transmit the signal from the sensor head 12 and the content of the processing performed on the aging device 2 and input the signal to the personal computer 22.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of one aging device for two parts. The sprinkler 16 is disposed at the upper center of each shelf 4 and the like, and the branch pipe 11 connected to the exhaust duct 6 is similarly placed in each shelf 4. It is made to suck from the center upper part of. Branch pipes extending from the fire extinguishing gas pipe 8 and the pipe 10 for each shelf 2 join at a valve 14 and are connected to a sprinkler 16 via a branch pipe 15 therefrom. And valve 14 is closed,
The fire extinguisher gas is connected to the pipe 8 and connected to the pipe 10, and is controlled by the controller 20. The sensor head 12 may be provided inside the shelf 4, for example, at the upper center of the shelf 4, but here, it is provided on the branch pipe 11, and the installation position is closer to the shelf 4 than the valve 17. Sensor head 12
Is provided on the branch pipe 11 because the atmosphere in the shelf 4 comes into contact with the sensor head 12 promptly and the atmosphere in almost all positions in the shelf 4 can be contacted due to the suction of the atmosphere by the branch pipe 11. It is in. On the other hand, if the sensor head 12 is directly mounted in the shelf 4, if the sensor head 12 is installed only in one place, contact with the atmosphere may be delayed due to the distribution of airflow in the shelf 4, and detection of an abnormality may be delayed.

The valve 17 provided for each branch pipe 11 is
For controlling the displacement every time, one valve 17 is provided for one aging device 2 instead.
The exhaust amount may be controlled for each aging device 2 instead of for each shelf 4. The control of the valve 17 is similarly performed by the CPU.
Perform at 20. Reference numeral 26 denotes a suction pump on the downstream side of the exhaust duct 6.

FIG. 3 shows how the sensor head 12 is attached to the branch pipe 11. The sensor head 12 is a hydrogen fluoride sensor S
1, odor sensor S2, smoke sensor S3, and temperature sensor S
And at least one of them, preferably at least one of the hydrogen fluoride sensor S1 and the odor sensor S2, and at least one of the smoke sensor S3 and the temperature sensor S4. It is assumed that The reason for using a plurality of sensors instead of one sensor is to increase the reliability of abnormality detection.
Note that the hydrogen fluoride sensor S1 and the odor sensor S2 indicate the type of gas to be detected, but do not indicate a specific sensor material. Here, the hydrogen fluoride sensor S1 is used to detect hydrogen fluoride generated by decomposition of a lithium salt in an organic electrolyte of a lithium ion battery.
The odor sensor S2 is a gas sensor for detecting a low-concentration organic solvent, and detects an organic solvent vapor such as ethers and carbonates contained in an organic electrolyte such as a lithium ion battery.

The gas sensors S1 and S2 include, for example, SnO
2 or a metal oxide semiconductor gas sensor such as In2O3. In addition, a thin film of an organic compound or the like for selectively adsorbing a specific gas is provided on the surface of the crystal unit, and the oscillation frequency of the crystal unit changes due to the weight change of the crystal unit due to the adsorption of the target gas. The used SAW gas sensor or the like is used. That is, a preferable sensor for the gas sensors S1 and S2 is:
The sensor is highly sensitive to hydrogen fluoride or low-concentration organic solvents. As the smoke sensor S3, for example, a photodiode and an LED are used in combination, and a scattered light type smoke sensor or the like that uses light from the LED scattered by smoke and incident on the photodiode is used, and the type thereof is arbitrary. The temperature sensor S4 uses a thermistor or the like to detect the temperature of the atmosphere.

The atmosphere in the shelf 4 is constantly sucked through the branch pipe 11, so that the atmosphere in the shelf 4 reaches the sensor head 12 quickly and almost uniformly. Now, there is a difference in room temperature between summer and winter, or between daytime and nighttime.
3 has a tendency that the 0 point changes over time. Gas sensor S
At 1 and S2, the zero point tends to change due to the concentration of a minute amount of background gas in the room accommodating the aging device 2, the ambient temperature and humidity, and the like. The target of the detection is, for example, a liquid leakage or the like caused by an abnormality at the time of aging, which may lead to an initial fire. On the other hand, what is significant in the signals from the sensors S1 to S4 is a difference from a steady value or the like, which is obtained by the difference means 28. That is, the difference from the stable value (steady value) of the signal of each sensor, the differential value of the signal of each sensor, and the like are extracted by the difference means 28 and input to the level determination means 30.

The level judging means 30 extracts three levels of output signals of a first level, a second level and a third level from the hydrogen fluoride sensor S1, the odor sensor S2 and the smoke sensor S3 which are relatively reliable. Low reliability temperature sensor S
With respect to No. 4, two output signals of the first level and the second level are extracted. In the sensor signal level, the third level is the smallest signal, for example, which means a slight increase in gas concentration, the first level is next to this, and the second level means an increase in gas concentration, smoke concentration, or temperature. This is the signal with the strongest level, which represents the condition just before the initial fire. With respect to the signals of the first to third levels, signals of the same level are input to the OR circuits 32, 34, and 36, and an AND circuit 3 is provided on the output side.
8, 40 are arranged so that the strongest signal is extracted.

The output signal P3 from the AND circuit 40 is an exhaust enhancement signal, and at least the branch pipe 11
Means increasing the displacement from the When the exhaust enhancement signal P3 is obtained for one shelf 4, the exhaust may be enhanced for other shelves in the same aging device 2. The fire extinguishing gas release signal P1 from the AND circuit 38
Is obtained, the valve 14 is controlled for the corresponding shelf 4 to release a fire-extinguishing gas such as CO2 to reduce the oxygen concentration in the shelf. At this time, a fire extinguishing gas may be similarly supplied to other shelves 4 in the same aging device 2,
Further, when the fire extinguishing gas release signal P1 is generated, for example, after elapse of a time sufficient to exhaust the atmosphere in the corresponding shelf 4, the valve 17 is closed to seal the corresponding shelf 4, and the fire extinguishing gas is filled. Is preferred. However, the relationship between the extinguishing gas release signal P1 and the exhaust amount depends on the exhaust capacity, the supply rate of the extinguishing gas, the setting of the detection level for the extinguishing gas release signal P1, and the like, and is arbitrary. For example, the exhaust may be continued while releasing the fire extinguishing gas so that the contaminated air and the fire extinguishing gas do not enter another shelf.

When the water / fire extinguisher spray signal P2 is generated, water or fire extinguisher is sprayed only on the corresponding shelf 4, and fire extinguishing gas is emitted to the other shelves. 42
Is an I / O, C on the side close to the personal computer 22
The detection signal and the control result are transmitted to the PU 20.

FIG. 4 shows a process in a normal state or when a third level signal is generated. If no abnormality occurs during the aging process, the signals of the sensors S1 to S4 should be almost constant. Therefore, these constant values are stored as steady values, and the increment from this is detected by the difference means 28. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the treatment for each of the sensors S1 to S4 is an OR logic, and the operation when the signal of any of the gas sensors S1, S2 or the smoke sensor S3 exceeds the third level P3 is indicated by a broken line. Show. When none of the sensor signals reach the third level, only the exhaust is performed from the branch pipe 11 to each shelf 4 with a small exhaust amount. Here, if the signal of any of the sensors exceeds the third level, the displacement is strongly increased,
Even after the sensor signal falls below the third level, the operation at the high displacement is continued for a predetermined additional time, and then the displacement returns to low. As a result, for example, the concentration of hydrogen fluoride, the concentration of the organic solvent, and the concentration of smoke in the shelf 4 are all suppressed to a predetermined value or less,
The concentration of the atmosphere is prevented from reaching the lower ignition limit concentration of the organic solvent.

FIG. 5 shows a first level P1 and a second level P2.
FIG. 5 (1) may be any of the sensors S1 to S4. The displacement from the branch pipe 11 is always kept low,
The value is strongly changed by exceeding the level P3, and is decreased to 0 here after a predetermined delay time has elapsed by exceeding the first level P1. This is for sealing the shelf 4 in which the abnormality has occurred, increasing the concentration of the extinguishing gas, and eliminating the possibility of developing a fire or the like. When any of the sensor signals exceeds the first level P1, the extinguishing gas is released to the corresponding shelf, and the exhaust amount becomes zero when the atmosphere remaining before the start of extinguishing the gas is exhausted. To fill the corresponding shelf 4 with the extinguishing gas. As a result, the oxygen concentration decreases and the possibility of developing a fire is eliminated.
In addition, at the stage of releasing the fire extinguishing gas, the battery or the like in the shelf is less likely to be contaminated, so that the extinguishing gas may be released to other shelves other than the corresponding shelf.

If the sensor signal further increases and exceeds the second level P2 in spite of the release of the fire extinguishing gas, the valve 14 is switched so that the water from the pipe 10 is supplied only to the corresponding shelf. Or fire extinguisher is sprayed,
The shelves are cooled to extinguish the fire. Note that the sensor signal is
After dropping to the level P2 or less, the spraying of water or fire extinguisher is continued for a predetermined additional time. At this time, the sensor signal is at the first level P1 or more. After the additional time, the supply of fire extinguishing gas is stopped. The supply of the fire-extinguishing gas is for preventing re-ignition after stopping the spraying of water or the fire extinguishing agent, but may be omitted. In addition, although the amount of exhaust gas when the fire extinguishing gas is supplied again is set to 0 here, the present invention is not limited to this. However, it is preferable to spray water or a fire extinguisher only on the corresponding shelf 4 and stop supplying fire extinguishing gas to the other shelves 4.

Although the aging of the lithium ion battery has been described in the embodiments, it may be used for aging other types of batteries such as other lithium batteries, nickel hydride batteries, nickel cadmium batteries, and dry batteries.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an aging device for a battery according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of one aging device of the device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement of sensors and a signal processing circuit in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an operation waveform diagram of the aging device of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an operation waveform diagram when the aging device of the embodiment is abnormal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Aging device 4 Shelf 6 Exhaust duct 8 Fire extinguishing gas pipe 10 Pipe 11 Branch pipe 12 Sensor head 14 Valve 15 Branch pipe 16 Sprinkler 17 Valve 20 Control processing unit 22 Personal computer 24 Printer 26 Exhaust pump 28 Differential means 30 Level judgment means 32, 34, 36 OR circuit 38, 40 AND circuit 42 I / O S1 Hydrogen fluoride sensor S2 Odor sensor S3 Smoke sensor S4 Temperature sensor P1 Fire extinguishing gas emission signal P2 Water / fire extinguisher spray signal P3 Exhaust enhancement signal

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Toshi Sase 1-26-16 Honhaneda, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Keihin Rika Kogyo Co., Ltd. ) Inventor Aya Nishino 6-6 Josai-cho, Takatsuki-shi, Osaka, Japan, inside Asa Corporation (72) Inventor Shigeru 6-6 Josai-cho, Takatsuki-shi, Osaka, Japan Asa Corporation F-term (reference) 5H030 AA06 AS01 FF27 FF31 FF51 FF61

Claims (8)

[Claims] An atmosphere sensor for detecting an atmosphere in a shelf is provided for each shelf of an aging device partitioned into a plurality of shelves, and a fire extinguishing gas supply port is provided. An aging device for a battery, wherein a supply port for a fire extinguishing gas is opened and closed according to a signal from an atmosphere sensor. 2. The fire extinguishing gas supply port is provided for each shelf, and at least the fire extinguishing gas supply port of the shelf is opened by a signal of an atmosphere sensor for each shelf. The battery aging device according to claim 1. 3. A water or fire extinguishing agent spray port is provided for each shelf, and a first level signal and a second level signal equal to or higher than a first level are provided as signal levels of the atmosphere sensor. Fire extinguishing gas is supplied by one level signal,
The battery aging device according to claim 2, wherein water or a fire extinguisher is sprayed according to the level signal. 4. The battery aging device according to claim 1, wherein each of the shelves is connected to an exhaust duct by a branch pipe for each shelf, and the atmosphere sensor is disposed on the branch pipe. 5. A first signal level of the atmosphere sensor,
5. The battery aging device according to claim 4, wherein a third level signal lower than the level signal is provided to increase the amount of exhaust to the exhaust duct by the third level signal. 6. The battery aging device according to claim 1, wherein the atmosphere sensor is a sensor obtained by combining at least two of a gas sensor, a smoke sensor, and a temperature sensor. 7. A sprinkler is provided which also serves as a supply port for the fire extinguishing gas and a spray port for the water or the fire extinguishing agent,
The battery aging device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a fire extinguisher gas pipe and a water or fire extinguisher pipe are connected to the sprinkler. 8. The battery aging device according to claim 1, wherein the gas sensor is at least one of a hydrogen fluoride sensor and an odor sensor.