JP2001160381A - Battery envelope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To give rigidity to a thin battery having a flexible structure using gel electrolyte, without placing it in a case. SOLUTION: This battery is placed in a shallow mold, and made into a board shape by embedding and molding it in a photo-curing resin.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an easy-to-use battery having a flexible structure using a gel electrolyte such as a polymer lithium secondary battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-mentioned battery is sealed in a flat bag and has a flexible structure, so that it is difficult to handle the battery as it is. Therefore, the battery is practically used in a flat box-shaped case. In this box-shaped case, the batteries are placed in a shallow case divided into upper and lower parts, and the upper and lower cases are adhered. The method of using an adhesive or ultrasonic welding is used for the adhesion of the upper and lower cases. The method of using an adhesive to bond the upper and lower cases has a bad working environment due to the evaporation of the solvent, and the adhesive may protrude to lower the product appearance.
There is a problem that it takes time to solidify the adhesive. In the case of using the ultrasonic welding, the control circuit and the charging circuit are integrated into an electric device as in the case of a lithium secondary battery. In some cases, the substrate may be adversely affected, and a method such as thermo-compression bonding using high-frequency heating may have an adverse effect on the circuit portion due to the temperature.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention eliminates the above-described conventional methods having various problems in making a flexible-structured battery rigid and easy to handle.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method that can be easily and inexpensively executed without any problem in appearance and function.

[0004]

A battery having a flexible structure is embedded in a photocurable or room temperature curable resin and molded into a plate shape. In this way, the upper and lower cases are separately molded, the batteries are housed in them, and the upper and lower cases are combined, but in the process, the battery enclosure is as easy as molding one of the upper and lower cases Is completed, and all the problems associated with the process of joining the upper and lower cases are eliminated. In addition, since it is molded with a room temperature curable resin, there is no temperature hindrance to the battery.

[0005]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a battery enclosure according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a battery body, which in this example is a polymer lithium secondary battery in which a gel electrolyte and electrodes are accommodated in a flexible bag-shaped outer casing, and + and-terminal plates 1a,
1b (not visible in the figure) has been pulled out. A printed circuit board 4 to which an IC 2, a connector 3 and the like constituting a charging circuit and the like are attached is connected to this terminal plate by soldering or spot welding. The connection between the battery body 1 and the printed circuit board is made of resin. 10 is embedded and molded.
5 is a frame material embedded at the time of this embedding molding,
This is an outer peripheral reinforcing member that surrounds the outer periphery of the battery enclosure in a U shape. Reference numeral 6 denotes a net-like reinforcing material which is superimposed on the upper and lower sides of the battery main body 1 and is buried and molded at the same time as the above-mentioned embedding. ing.

The resin 10 for enclosing the battery body 1 is a non-heat-curable resin which is in a liquid state before being cured, is injected into a mold and is cured, and is made of a photo-curable resin or a room temperature-curable resin. Photocurable resins are one-part, which are cured by irradiation with light. There are various types of UV-curable, visible light-curable, and heat-light curable resins, and they cure at room temperature. However, when applied to the present invention, it is necessary to limit the heating to less than the heat resistance of the battery itself. The room temperature curing type resin includes an epoxy resin and a polyester resin, but is a two-part resin, and needs to be mixed immediately before casting, and is preferably a light curing type in the process.

[0007] The outer peripheral reinforcing member 5 is formed by bending a thin aluminum plate band into a U-shape, and has a thin battery envelope. Battery body 1
Aggregate 6 superimposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the battery enclosure is a coarse mesh of glass fiber, which provides toughness to the upper and lower surfaces of the battery enclosure. The mesh is used in order to prevent a shadow from being formed during the light curing of the resin 10 so as not to hinder the curing. The mesh may be a metal mesh instead of a glass fiber. The reinforcing member 5 and the net 6 may be omitted in some cases. When the battery body 1 is embedded in the resin 10 and the upper surface of the battery body becomes thicker and stronger than the lower surface of the battery body, the aggregate 6 is placed on one side of the battery enclosure (only on the lower side). Is also good.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining the manufacturing process of the battery enclosure of the present invention. Reference numerals 7 and 8 denote upper and lower molds, each of which is a shallow box made of a transparent material such as glass, acrylic resin, or polycarbonate resin.
The upper and lower molds 7 and 8 are connected by 1. The reinforcing material 5 is fitted to the lower mold 8, the aggregate 6 is spread thereon, the integrated body of the battery body 1 and the circuit board 4 is placed thereon, the upper mold 7 is covered, the metal fitting 81 is raised, and the upper and lower molds 7, 8 and a photo-curing resin 10 is injected into the mold from a resin injection port 9 made of an opaque body provided in the upper mold 7, and then the vertically coupled mold is irradiated with ultraviolet light from above and below the mold through an ultraviolet irradiation tunnel. Irradiate the resin 1
Cure 0. Since the resin 10 that has passed through the tunnel is hardened, the upper and lower molds are separated and the contents are taken out to complete the battery envelope as shown in FIG. Since the injection port 9 of the upper mold 7 is opaque, the resin remaining therein is uncured, and there is no problem in separating the molds 7 and 8 and removing the contents. Return to process. By injecting a small amount of resin 10 into the lower mold 8 in advance, and then placing the battery body 1 in the lower mold 8, the resin 10 moves well to the lower side of the battery body 1, and the battery enclosure Formation failure of the layer of the resin 10 on the lower surface of the substrate can be avoided. In the operation of injecting the resin 10 into the lower mold in advance, it is necessary to prevent ultraviolet rays from being applied. When using a visible light curable resin, this operation is preferably performed under red light.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a process for performing the above-mentioned operation. The process proceeds from right to left. In the figure, reference numeral 12 denotes a belt conveyor, and reference numerals 13a and 13b denote injectors for the resin 10;
Reference numeral 4 denotes an ultraviolet irradiation tunnel. The process is A,
B,... From the right, the reinforcing material 5 is fitted to the lower mold 8 at A, and the lower aggregate 6 is laid in the lower mold 8 at B,
In C, a small amount of the photocurable resin 10 is injected into the lower mold with the injector 13a, the combined body of the battery body 1 and the circuit board 4 is placed in the lower mold in D, and the aggregate 6 is placed on the combined body in E. Place, cover the upper mold 7 with F, raise the metal fitting 81, and join the upper and lower molds,
The resin 10 is injected into the molds 7 and 8 from the injector 13b, and a certain period of time is left until the injected resin liquid completely penetrates into each part in the molds. Thereafter, the vertically coupled molds 7 and 8 are irradiated with ultraviolet rays. After passing through the tunnel 14, the upper and lower molds 7 and 8 are separated from each other at G when they come out. To the starting point of the process.

The present invention is not limited to the above. Various modifications are possible. For example, instead of injecting resin after the upper and lower dies 7, 8 are combined, the lower die is set to a depth corresponding to the thickness of the finished product, the upper die is not provided, and a calculated amount of resin liquid is injected into the lower die. The light irradiation may be performed by setting a battery body or the like. The mold is preferably coated with a silicone-based release agent in the mold to facilitate removal of the finished product. As the outer peripheral reinforcing material 5, a resin molded product, a magnesium alloy, or the like can be used in addition to aluminum. The battery body is not limited to the polymer lithium secondary battery, but can be applied to any thin battery.

[0011]

According to the present invention, as described above, unlike the case in which the battery enclosure is housed in a separately manufactured case, the case is not required, so that it can be supplied at low cost and can be made thinner than the case. The function of a battery with a flexible structure intended to be thinner can be better utilized, and there is no extra structural element such as a case, so it is lightweight and the thickness is almost the same as the original battery body thickness In addition to being thin, especially as a power source for portable electrical devices,
It is easy to increase the degree of freedom in designing a portable electric device, reduce the manufacturing cost, and produce a user-friendly device. Further, since the battery body is embedded in the resin, the reliability is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a battery enclosure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a manufacturing method of the above example.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a manufacturing process of the above example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Battery main body 2 IC 3 Connector 4 Printed circuit board 5 Frame (reinforcing member) 6 Net (reinforcing material) 7 Upper die 8 Lower die 9 Resin injection port 10 Resin

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A battery enclosure characterized in that a flat flexible battery having a gel electrolyte as an electrolyte is embedded in a photocurable or room temperature curable resin and the resin is cured to a flat shape. .