JP2000260402A - Battery pack - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery pack capable of confirming electrolyte leakage of a secondary battery sealed in a container without disassembling the container. SOLUTION: This battery pack is equipped with a secondary battery 1 such as a Li ion battery and a NiMH battery, and a container comprising a lower case 5 and an upper case 6 to seal the secondary battery 1, and a see-through hole 6b is provided on the label affixing surface 6a of the upper case 6. A leakage detecting seal 9 (label 7) which changes its color by reacting to electrolyte leaked from the secondary battery 1 and its vaporized gas at a position covering the see-through hole 6b or on the surface of the secondary battery 1 visible from the outside through the see-through hole.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery pack having a structure capable of easily determining the leakage of a secondary battery sealed in a container.

[0002]

2. Related Art Recently, secondary batteries such as Li-ion batteries and NiMH batteries have been used as power supplies for various electronic devices. Particularly recently, various battery packs in which this type of secondary battery is integrally sealed in a container together with an electronic circuit such as an overcharge protection circuit have been developed. By the way, the specifications of this type of battery pack are set with a margin in consideration of the environment in which the battery pack is used, but the battery pack may be rarely exposed to a unique environment.
For example, when the battery is exposed to an abnormally high temperature, there is a possibility that liquid leakage may occur from the secondary battery under the influence of the external environment. If the battery pack is used with such a leak,
Not only can you not bring out the original function of the battery pack,
There is a concern that the electrolyte or the like leaked from the secondary battery may adversely affect the electronic device housing the battery pack as a power supply.

[0003]

However, in the battery packs which have been developed in the past, there is a problem that it is not possible to confirm whether or not the secondary battery has leaked without disassembling the battery pack. Particularly, recently, a container for integrally enclosing a secondary battery and an electronic circuit is often assembled in such a manner that it cannot be disassembled by bonding or the like. In this case, the disassembly destroys the battery pack itself.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack which can easily confirm the presence or absence of liquid leakage in a secondary battery sealed in a container. is there. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack having a simple structure that can confirm the presence or absence of liquid leakage of the secondary battery without disassembling the container in which the secondary battery is sealed.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a battery pack according to the present invention comprises a Li-ion battery or a NiM battery.
A secondary battery such as an H battery, and a container for enclosing the secondary battery, a through hole is provided in the label attaching surface of the container, and a position for closing the through hole or from outside through the through hole. A leak detection seal such as a litmus test paper or a Ph test paper which changes color in response to a leak component from the secondary battery, for example, an electrolytic solution or a vaporized gas thereof, is provided at a visible position.

[0006] In a preferred aspect of the present invention, as described in claim 2, the leak detection seal is used as a label attached to the container. In other words, the label itself attached to the container is used as a liquid leakage detection seal, and this label is made to react with the leakage component from the secondary battery through the through hole. Alternatively, as described in claim 3, the leakage seal is attached to a portion of the secondary battery sealed in the container facing the through-hole, and the label attached to the container is simply peeled off. The liquid detection seal is provided so as to be visible through the through-hole.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a battery pack according to this embodiment, and 1 is a secondary battery such as a Li-ion battery or a NiMH battery. The secondary battery 1 is formed, for example, by connecting a plurality of battery cells (not shown) in series and parallel, and has an external appearance packaged in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. At the end of the secondary battery 1, there is provided a printed circuit board 3 to which the positive electrode lead material 2p and the negative electrode lead material 2n derived from the secondary battery 1 are connected. This printed circuit board 3
Is mounted with an electronic circuit component 4 such as an overvoltage protection circuit. In this example, the electronic circuit component 4 is vertically arranged so as to face an end of the secondary battery 1. Also, the positive electrode lead material 2p and the negative electrode lead material 2p of the secondary battery 1
An electrode terminal plate 3a is provided for external connection of an electrode terminal connected to n, a check terminal of the electronic circuit, and the like.

On the other hand, a container integrally enclosing the secondary battery 1 and a printed circuit board 3 on which electronic circuit components are mounted,
It comprises a lower case 5 and an upper case 6 which are overlapped with each other to form a predetermined internal space. The lower case 5
The upper case 6 has a box-like shape in which the secondary battery 1 and the printed circuit board 3 are integrally housed therein, and the upper case 6 removes the secondary battery 1 and the printed circuit board 3 housed in the lower case 5 from above. The lower case 5 is provided so as to be covered.
And integrated.

The upper case 6 has an upper surface serving as an attachment surface 6a for the label 7, and the label attachment surface (upper surface) 6a has a plurality of through holes 6b. At the end of the upper case 6, a flange 6c is formed for pressing the electrode terminal plate 3a from above. The electrode terminals and check terminals provided on the electrode terminal plate 3a are externally connected to each other through electrode holes 6d formed in the flange 6c. That is,
As shown in FIG.
When the secondary battery 1 is housed inside and the lower case 5 and the upper case 6 are joined and integrated, the external connection terminal is formed by sandwiching the electrode terminal plate 3a between the lower case 5 and the bottom surface. It is something to do.

The label 7 describes the model number and the name of the manufacturer of the battery pack, as well as the battery specifications and various precautions, and is attached to the label attaching surface 6a using an adhesive or the like. . A battery pack is completed as a product by attaching the above-mentioned label 7 to the above-mentioned label sticking surface 6a of the container in which the secondary battery 1 is sealed and bonded and integrated, and the battery pack is completed by sticking it to the label sticking surface 6a. The hole 6b is covered and covered by a label 7 attached to the upper case 6.

In the battery pack basically constructed as described above, the feature of the battery pack according to this embodiment is that the through holes 6 on the surface of the secondary battery 1 are formed.
The liquid leakage detection seal 9 made of litmus test paper, Ph test paper, or the like is affixed to a portion opposing the portion b in such a manner as to be visible through the through hole 6b. The leak detection seal 9 changes color in response to a leak component such as an electrolyte leaked from the secondary battery 1 and its vaporized gas. It has the property of turning blue when chemically reacted. Since the electrolytic solution and its vaporized gas leaking from the secondary battery 1 exhibit alkalinity or acidity, the test paper containing an organic solvent exhibiting a discoloration effect using this chemical property is replaced with the litmus test paper. It is also possible to use.

Thus, according to the battery pack in which such a leak detection seal 9 is affixed to the secondary battery 1 and sealed in a container, for example, the label 7 is turned up through the through hole 6b which is exposed by being turned up. By simply looking into the liquid detection seal 9, it is possible to easily and accurately check whether or not liquid leakage has occurred in the secondary battery 1 based on whether or not the liquid leakage detection seal 9 has changed color. That is, without disassembling the container including the lower case 5 and the upper case 6, it is possible to inspect / confirm whether or not the secondary battery 1 enclosed in the inside has leaked.
Therefore, when the liquid leakage detection seal 9 has not changed color, it is determined that there is no liquid leakage of the secondary battery 1, and the label 7 is attached again to the upper surface of the upper case 6, and the battery pack is left as it is. It can be used continuously. Further, when the liquid leakage detection seal 9 is discolored, if a part of the label 7 is peeled up and peeled over the whole, etc.,
This makes it possible to clearly distinguish defective products from which liquid leakage has occurred.

In addition, instead of looking through the leak detection seal 9 attached to the surface of the secondary battery 1 through the through-hole 6b, as described above, it is attached to the upper surface of the upper case 6 so as to cover the through-hole 6a. The label 7 itself can be used as the liquid leakage detection seal 9. In this case, the leakage component generated by the leakage of the secondary battery 1 inside the container causes the leakage detection seal 9 (label 7) to change color through the through hole 6b. Therefore, the liquid leakage of the secondary battery 1 inside the liquid leakage detection seal 9 (label 7) can be visually confirmed from the outside without peeling.

As described above, according to the structure of the battery pack according to the present invention, through the through hole 6b provided in the upper case 6, it is confirmed whether or not the liquid leakage detection seal 9 attached to the secondary battery 1 has changed color. Alternatively, the presence or absence of discoloration of the liquid leakage detection seal 9 (label 7) affixed to the surface of the upper case 6 through the through hole 6b or the like can be confirmed. There is no need to check the situation. Therefore, the presence or absence of liquid leakage in the secondary battery 1 can be easily confirmed. In particular, since there is no need to disassemble the container, not only is the disassembly and disassembly of the container unnecessary, but even if the container structure cannot be disassembled, it does not cause physical damage to the container etc. Effects such as enabling continuous use of the pack can be obtained.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the shape of the battery pack may be any shape in accordance with the specifications, and the shape can be similarly applied to a battery pack without an electronic circuit such as an overcharge protection circuit. Further, as the liquid leakage detection seal 9, usually, the discoloration to red is easily perceived as a defective product, so that the color changes from colorless to red or from blue to red in response to a leakage component from the secondary battery 1, for example. A paper, cloth material, film material, or the like containing (impregnating) an organic solvent that causes discoloration may be used. Further, as a material equivalent to the leak detection seal 9, a paint or the like containing (impregnating) an organic solvent having the above-described properties can be applied to the surface of the secondary battery 1 or the label 7. Instead of partially attaching the leak detection seal 9 to the surface of the secondary battery 1, the leak detection seal 9 is attached to the entire surface thereof, and is applied to the entire area of the label attachment surface 6 a of the upper case 6. It is desirable to be able to confirm the discoloration even when passing through any of the plurality of through holes 6b drilled. In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, a through hole is provided on the label affixing surface of a container for enclosing a secondary battery therein, and a position for closing the through hole or from outside through the through hole. A leak detection seal that discolors in response to the electrolyte leaked from the secondary battery or its vaporized gas is provided at a position where it can be visually recognized, so that the container can be easily and reliably installed without disassembling the container. The presence or absence of liquid leakage of the next battery can be confirmed, and if there is no abnormality, a great effect in practical use can be obtained such that the battery pack can be continuously used without damaging the battery pack.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic structure of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a cross-sectional structure of a main part of the battery pack shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Secondary battery 3 Printed circuit board 5 Lower case (container) 6 Upper case (container) 6a Label attaching surface 6b Through-hole 7 Label 9 Leakage detection seal

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hideki Ishihara 7-1 Nisshin-cho, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa F-term (reference) in Toshiba Electronics Engineering Co., Ltd. 5H020 AS13 CC06 CC08 DD02 DD11 KK01 5H030 AA06 AS11 FF51 FF66

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A rechargeable battery, a container for enclosing the rechargeable battery, a through hole formed in a label attaching surface of the rechargeable battery, and a seal that changes color in response to a leak component from the rechargeable battery. And a liquid leakage detection seal provided at a position to close the through hole or at a position visible from outside through the through hole. 2. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the leak detection seal is used as a label attached to the container. 3. The liquid leakage detection seal is attached to a portion of the secondary battery sealed in the container, the portion facing the through hole,
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the label attached to the container is peeled off and visually recognized. 4. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the leak detection seal is made of litmus test paper or Ph test paper.